BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
ATHENS — Troy’s Ary Andrus showed what type of difference maker she could be on Tuesday, as North Penn-Liberty had no answer for the 6-foot, 5-inch senior middle hitter in Troy’s 3-1 win over the Mounties during the District IV, Class AA semifinal.
They’ll face Loyalsock on Thursday back at Athens with a 7 p.m. start. The Lancers upset the defending district champions, Wellsboro, 3-2.
“She’s always really hard to stop,” said Troy coach Abby Herman-Deitrick. “I think we just figured out that with how hard to stop she is, we just need to get her the ball as much as we can. She did a really good job putting it down tonight and hitting different spots instead of the same spot.”
Andrus finished with 29 of her team’s 48 kills to go along with seven blocks, one dig, two aces, and an assist.
“It felt awesome,” Andrus said her hitting. “I have a really good setter. She’s my best friend. We just have a really strong connection, and she knows what I like and how I hit the ball.”
That setter, senior Brenna Jackson, had 42 assists on the night to go with an ace, and 12 digs.
“I our connection has gotten so strong,” Jackson remarked. “She’s just such a powerful hitter, and she always knows where to go.”
Troy used a strong start to beat NP-Liberty 25-20 in the first set, but NPL rallied for a 25-18 win in the second set.
Troy righted the ship and took the final two sets 25-18 and 25-18.
“We had some ups and downs, but I’m really proud of the way the girls fought through after losing a set,” said Herman-Deitrick.
Haidyn Watson had nine kills, three aces, and seven digs, with Alli Bailey getting 20 digs, two assists, one ace, and a kill.
Alexa Lawrence finished with four kills, one ace, and 11 digs with Liana Lyon getting 10 digs, and three aces.
Amber White chipped in with three kills and two blocks, as Bella Wood had two digs, one block, and two kills.
It wasn’t quite as seamless of a performance as the quarters against Towanda, especially in the second set when Troy struggled with Andrus off the court.
“They just got a few little jitters,” Herman-Deitrick said. “Sometimes we just have to brush it off, laugh it off, and make the best of the next set. Volleyball is all about momentum, and we didn’t have it that set.”
Playing two freshmen and a sophomore can have that effect.
“I would say they were more role players than they were the outstanding freshmen than I have selected them to be,” Herman-Deitrick said. “But they held their ground further through the sets, and I think the nerves got to them a little bit more this game than any other game.”
The Trojans came out fast, jumping out to a 12-5 first set lead behind four kills and four aces.
The Mounties chipped away, eventually tying it up at 17-all, and even taking a 19-17 lead at one point.
After a NP-Liberty attack was out made it 19-18 Troy fed Andrus to straight kills to take the 1-point lead.
After a Lyon ace Andrus added another kill for a 22-19 advantage. An NPL hitting error, followed by an Andrus pushed that lead to 24-19.
A Troy service error got NPL the serve back, but their attack went into the net for the 5-point Troy win the opening set.
The second set, though, saw the Mounties jump out to a 10-2 lead. They continued to push their advantage, making it as much as 18-7 at one point.
Andrus got them back in it hitting eight kills and two blocks to make it 20-16. Two straight points from NPL gave them some breathing room, but Troy came back with two points of their own to make it a 4-point set again.
However, two Trojan hitting errors put NPL back in charge, and they finished things off with a kill for the 7-point win.
“We got in a rut, but once we start going to our middle the momentum swings back,” Jackson said.
That’s what Troy did as they jumped out early in the third set, 7-2, behind four Andrus kills and one from Watson.
"I just need to help my team out and get us playing like we normally do, confidently," Andrus said.
NPL would cut it to 9-6 but a 5-1 run from the Trojans put them up 14-7 as they threatened to run away with the game. They would extend the lead to 19-11 at one point.
NPL rallied, scoring four straight points to make it 19-15 as the Trojans countered with three consecutive points of their own for a 22-15 lead.
The Mounties would get it as close as 22-18, but an Andrus kill, an NPL error, and a Lawrence kill ended the set in Troy’s favor.
The fourth set was back and forth early as the two teams were tied at 8-7. A 4-0 run from the Trojans gave them a small lead, but NPL erased it with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 13-12 lead.
Watson ended that stretch with a kill, and Andrus came back on the floor.
Troy answered with three straight kills - two by Andrus, one from Bailey - to put the Trojans up 16-13.
After the two teams traded points NPL rallied to knot things up at 17-all.
However, two straight Andrus kills followed by a block put Troy ahead 20-17. NPL cut it to 20-18 with a kill, but the Trojans scored the final five points to secure the trip to the finals.
“It’s really exciting,” Jackson said about going back to the district finals. “We put in a lot of work.”
She’s hoping to get her teammates going in the finals against Loyalsock, a team they beat 3-0 earlier in the season. They'll be looking for redemption from their 5-set loss to Wellsboro last year.
“I feel like my connection with the other hitters has gotten really well, too,” Jackson said. “I feel like I can depend on really anyone.”
While it’s Troy vs Loyalsock on the court it’ll be a pair of Canton alums battling it out in the coach’s box with Herman-Deitrick facing off with fellow Warriors Allyson Butcher.
“I think prepping like we have for every other team, focusing on more what we do good, and not what the other team does bad,” said Herman-Deitrick. “Figuring out what we need to do.”
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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