Mounts earn Playoff Berth

If playing tough in the clutch is one of the ingredients that goes into winning in the postseason, Ephrata’s girls volleyball team showed Thursday night that it has the potential to turn a set around.

The Mounts beat back a Manheim Central set point in the first set and came from behind after being down 23-19 in the second set on the way to winning those two sets by 26-24 scores.

Ephrata then won the third 25-18 to complete the 3-0 sweep and clinched a Lancaster-Lebanon League playoff berth for the first time in seven seasons.

“That was a huge goal,’’ said senior libero Maddy Eby, who will go to the L-L playoffs for the first time in her high school career. “We went into the season not sure what to expect. After our first match against Garden Spot, we realized we could go farther than ever.’’

Down 23-21 in the opening set, Ephrata set Kendall Wales two straight times and the junior put the ball away to knot the score at 23-23. An Ephrata communication error put the Barons (5-6 league, 9-7 overall) on the brink of winning the set but the Mounts (8-2, 12-2) got a kill from freshman Taylor Haupt sandwiched around two Manheim hitting errors to give Ephrata the 26-24 win in the set.

“We just couldn’t finish some plays,’’ said Manheim Central coach Jason Moyer. “We just couldn’t put balls down when we needed balls to go down. We were right there.’’

Ephrata’s late heroics appeared to have affected the Barons in the second set, who trailed 8-1 at the start. But Central scrapped as it had all match and roared back with an 11-2 run, sparked by kills from Monica Bauman. The Barons took a lead at 11-10 and held it until Ephrata tied the set at 23-23.

Ephrata’s Wales and Manheim’s Elena Kready traded kills, but the Mounts set Wales again on the left pin and a Barons’ hitting error completed the comeback and gave the set to Ephrata.

“We have some mental lapses,’’ said Ephrata coach Mike Elliott, whose team has won four straight. “The next thing you know, we’re fighting from behind.’’

That fight is made just a bit easier when Ephrata’s setter, Grace Farlow, has options like Wales and Haupt.

“Those two are hitting 54 percent of our balls this year,’’ Elliott said. “Over the last four weeks, we’ve wanted to run a faster offense and we have and you saw that tonight.’’

Ephrata has been able to reverse deficits with defense, and Eby led the way with 25 digs in the match.

“Maddy is right around 1,750 digs for her career,’’ Elliott said. “When we lost that lead in the second set, in the huddle, she said, ‘We’re better than this. Let’s go.’ It’s senior leadership.’’

On this night, the Mounts listened to that leadership and have now found themselves in the L-L playoffs.

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