Bulldogs lock up region title on senior night

Meadville was dominant for most of Tuesday’s region match against Saegertown and won 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18) to clinch the region title at the House of Thrills.

The Bulldogs dominated the first two sets by snagging early leads and never letting go. Meadville’s offense was efficient with Max Decker and Tate Walker rotating at setter.

Defensively, the ‘Dogs were stout at the net and didn’t let Saegertown get comfortable.

“We really struggled passing the ball and that took the wind out of our sails. We struggled at the net too, missing blocking assignments and things like that,” Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson said. “I thought we settled down and played decent in the third set — we passed the ball a lot better. I was expecting a little tighter match, but it wasn’t the way it happened.

Saegertown got out to a hot start in the third set with leads of 6-3 and 9-6. As the set progressed, the Bulldogs settled back into the flow of their offense and took their first lead at 12-11. Meadville didn’t give up its lead and finished the set on a 8-2 run to claim the match. A couple Saegertown hitting errors helped spark the big run, and Meadville junior Parker Gosnell buried the final point of the match, one of his six kills.

“Overall, we played pretty well. All aspects of it,” Meadville head coach Nick Bancroft said. “I feel like sometimes our offense needs to not give so many second chances, but that is still coming. Max is still working on his connection with the guys and running a fast-tempo offense. Overall, there are a lot of things we did well tonight that we’re happy about.”

Tymir Phillips and Evan Peterson each finished with six kills for Meadville. Luc Soerensen had five kills and four aces. Decker and Walker combined to dish 30 assists.

Seniors Kellen Ball and Ben Fiely were each honored on senior night before the match. Both are middle hitters and saw plenty of action.

“They’re really great guys that work hard and they’re leaders. That’s what they are and have been since they came here,” Bancroft said. “Both of them have been in and out of our lineup since they were sophomores. They’ve been a big staple for us, so we are happy to honor them tonight.”

Meadville is 13-0 on the year and 8-0 in region play. The ‘Dogs will conclude the regular season today at The Bird Cage against Cochranton.

Saegertown is 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the region. The Panthers lost to Meadville in both regular season matches this season.

“I think right now we need to focus on beating Maplewood on Thursday. It’s a huge match for us because if we can win that we’ll be the second seed. I am not even worried about playing them (Meadville) again,” Johnson said. “We need to win first to get back and play them again. It’s not a foregone conclusion that we can do that. We will cross that bridge when we get there.”

Jackson Scott dished 15 assists and added 10 digs for Saegertown. Cru Scott led the offense with 10 kills and Westin Baker had nine digs.

Saegertown was ranked No. 7 in the latest poll from the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, but have lost two straight matches.

“We are up and down still. We play well for a set or two then it seems like we lose it. I’m just hoping it all comes together here, young team and all that,” Johnson said. “Hopefully we can put something together and make a run in the postseason. Get out of this district and hopefully win a couple matches, whether we’re the champion or the runner-up. But we have a lot of work to do before we get to that point.”