Panther Valley volleyball defeats Jim Thorpe

Good teams find a way to win even when they don’t play their best.

On Tuesday night, in a raucous road environment at Jim Thorpe, the undefeated Panther Valley volleyball team didn’t play perfect.

But the Panthers battled and dug in, and in the end, made the clutch plays to come away with a 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory over the Olympians.

In the first game of the night, the Panthers (14-0) did what they’ve been able to do well throughout the season — serve with success.

PV used ace stretches from Jenna Dubosky and Erika Dubosky to set the tone in the first frame. Jenna reeled off four straight strikes and sister Erika connected with three straight to give the Panthers a commanding lead midway through the set, and never looked back.

In game two, the momentum changed.

A big moment for the Olympians (12-4) came on their fifth point when Kelsey Carroll setup Mackenzie Rosenberger for a kill. Carroll’s assist was the 1,000th of her career, and Thorpe played 1,000 percent better after that moment.

Thorpe jumped out to an 18-13 lead and a strong defensive effort carried it to the 25-22 win.

“Preparing for this team, we really emphasized our defense. We were really focused on playing good defense tonight, because of their talented hitters,” said Olympians head coach Victoria Nichols. “Unfortunately, I think we focused so much on defense that our hitting and serving suffered a little bit tonight. But we battled against the best team in AA in our district, and we can build off that.”

In the third game, the Panthers hitting bailed them out from a rough stretch from the service line. PV committed seven errors from the line, including four straight late in the set.

Panther Valley’s hitters came to the rescue, however, as Christina Dacey was strong in the third with multiple kills, while Jenna Dubosky led all Panthers with four kills and a key block.

“This was a very mental game because both of these teams know each other very well, a lot of these girls are friends, and I think that had a little something to do with our struggles at points,” said Panthers head coach Nancy Filer. “But good teams find a way to win, and we were able to do that.

“This was a tough game, Jim Thorpe played really well. This will prepare us for what we have coming up. I’m proud of our girls for coming through tonight.”

In what would be the fourth and final game, the Olympians continued to battle and fight to stay in the match. They led 15-12, before the Panthers did themselves no favors, committing four service errors late in the game. However, once again the Panthers hitting came through.

Tied at 20, Erika Dubosky saved her best for last with three straight kills, and Emilee Kwaak finished off the Olympians with two kills to end it at 25-21.

“We knew Jim Thorpe was going to play us tough, we know them and they are a good team, but we were able to battle tonight,” said Kwaak. “I was actually a little down on myself tonight, I thought I missed some opportunities, but Jenna believed in me at the end of the game and I was able to come through for us.”

TRIPLE DOUBLE ... Jenna Dubosky put together a strong stat line for the Panthers with 14 kills, 12 assists, and 11 service points. Erika Dubosky had eight kills, and Christina Dacey and Olivia Dacey helped out with seven kills apiece.

OLYMPIAN LEADERS ... Kelsey Carroll had 12 digs, seven assists, five kills, and four aces. Alexandra McGinley had 23 digs, Emma Dunbar added 13 digs, and Mackenzie Rosenberger finished with five kills.