Flying high again
Lady Falcons top Mustangs to win FCCA tournament title
To reference a song title from the late, great Ozzy Osbourne, the Lady Falcons are 鈥淔lying High Again.鈥�
Brownsville avenged a loss to Belle Vernon in pool play with a victory in the semifinals before defeating Laurel Highlands, 2-0, in a best-of-three series to win the Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) volleyball championship Saturday afternoon at AJ Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Uniontown Area High School.
The Lady Falcons defeated the Mustangs by scores of 25-21 and 26-24 for the sweep.
As a Class 2A school, Brownsville was facing Class 3A teams in Belle Vernon, Laurel Highlands and host Uniontown, but the Lady Falcons won four of six sets in Pool A to earn a spot in the 鈥淕old Bracket.鈥�
鈥淚t has probably been about three to four years since Brownsville won this tournament,鈥� Brownsville coach Rachael Salvucci said. 鈥淧laying several teams that are higher than us in classification is a challenge, but that鈥檚 what we need for our team this year because our goal is to enhance our skills, elevate our play and come together as a team and play hard.
鈥淲e were down by seven or eight points at one time against Laurel Highlands, and made the comeback, so today was great for us. Winning is always nice, but our goal was to be scrappy, play hard as a team and play as one.鈥�
Brownsville opened play in the early morning, as matches began at 8, with a 2-0 victory over Geibel Catholic by scores of 25-7 and 25-14. It swept the Lady Red Raiders in two sets by scores of 25-20, 25-21 before the Lady Leopards earned two sets wins by scores of 25-21.
Following pool play, the top four teams were placed into the 鈥淕old Bracket,鈥� which is comparable to a championship bracket, while the bottom four were sent to the 鈥淪ilver鈥� or consolation bracket. The two brackets were single elimination.
The semifinal matches were only one set, as the Lady Falcons redeemed themselves against Belle Vernon and the Mustangs defeated Connellsville.
Laurel Highlands won seven sets prior to the championship match.
Skyler Gates receives plenty of attention, which is warranted, as the Brownsville senior has committed to continue her academic and volleyball careers at the University of Virginia, but Salvucci was pleased with her entire team in defeating two larger schools for the championship.
鈥淲e had a lot of girls step up,鈥� Salvucci said. 鈥淲e have two seniors in Cyan Eilam and Skyler Gates. They both stepped up and have been great leaders this year. They hold our team together, and the girls really look up to them.
鈥淲e had three sophomores and two freshmen who usually don鈥檛 play varsity step up and play today. Lena (Rechichar), who just served that final ace, is a sophomore and was playing varsity for the first time, stepped it up and served hard under pressure.鈥�
That鈥檚 not to say Gates wasn鈥檛 impactful, as she led her team in kills (35) and aces (12). She had 22 service points, 15 digs and eight blocks.
Aijanae Foster led the Lady Falcons in blocks with nine. She added 16 service points (six aces) and 13 kills. Ari Johnson had a team-leading 25 service points to go along with her 17 assists.
Kenzie Adams had a team-high 23 assists. Brownsville scored 22 points with Adams serving. Teammate Ashley Evanchak led the Lady Falcons in digs with 41, and chipped in with 11 service points.
鈥淭his was the first time Aijanae was playing middle for the first time, so she really stepped up for us and got a lot of blocks,鈥� Salvucci said.
Uniontown defeated Albert Gallatin to win the 鈥淪ilver Bracket.鈥� It defeated the Lady Gators to reach the final, while the Lady Colonials topped Turkeyfoot Valley.
The Lady Rams had a tough draw in Pool B, as the small school was placed with Albert Gallatin, Connellsville and Laurel Highlands.
Brownsville opens Section 3-2A play on Tuesday at McGuffey.