Mounts Post Big Rally

Last week was a banner one for the Ephrata girls volleyball team. The Mountaineers started off with a thrilling reverse sweep of Exeter Township on Sept. 30, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win the nonleague match. That result will have important implications for the District Three Class 4A playoffs down the road.

Meanwhile, two of Ephrata’s subsequent victories put the Mountaineers on the precipice of a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two crown.

First, Ephrata (11-0 L-L, 14-1 overall) dispatched upstart Garden Spot 3-1 on Tuesday. The Mountaineers followed suit with a 3-1 victory over rival Elizabethtown on Thursday.

After sharing the Section Two title with the Bears last season, Ephrata has all but locked up its first outright title since 1995 when the Mountaineers were champs of Section One.

Ephrata will wrap up the regular season with a trio of road matches, needing just one more win to clinch the crown.

Statistically, senior middle Courtney Smith has led the Mounts’ charge this season. Against E-town, Smith had 22 kills, six blocks and four aces.

Not that Smith is Ephrata’s only star player. Junior setter Sofia Rios tallied 30 assists against the Bears. Sophomore libero Chloe Saylor amassed 29 digs against Garden Spot. And senior middle Evelyn Banks posted six blocks in the comeback against Exeter. Every night is a chance to shine for the Mounts’ talented rotation.

Buoyed by a challenging nonleague schedule as well as the grind of Section Two play, Ephrata sits at No. 4 in the District Three Class 4A power rankings behind Dallastown and state-ranked powers Wilson and Hempfield.

The Mountaineers are now in line to host the league quarterfinals and two potential home matches in the district playoffs. And they owe it all to last week’s banner results.

The skinny

Ephrata isn’t the only team on the verge of a section championship. Octorara (10-1, 13-3) holds the keys to Section Three, and can clinch its second title in three years by defeating Lancaster Catholic (7-2, 8-3) at home on Tuesday.

On the other hand, a win by Lancaster Catholic could create a three-way tie between the Crusaders, Octorara and defending champ Northern Lebanon (8-2, 8-3). Stay tuned.

In Section One, Hemp-field (10-0, 10-0) has already locked down its seventh-straight section title. Penn Manor (6-2, 8-3) and Conestoga Valley (6-3, 7-4) are both in the mix for a league berth, with the two teams slated to meet Thursday night in Witmer.

Finally, Elizabethtown (8-2, 9-3) holds a two-game lead over Garden Spot (7-4, 11-4) for the second league berth out of Section Two. Those teams are scheduled to meet on Oct. 16 if the Bears haven’t wrapped up their bid by then.

Weekend highlight

Hempfield had a busy weekend, winning the State College Little Lion Invitational.

The Black Knights beat Phillipsburg-Osceola for the championship, and were a perfect 9-0 throughout the tournament. They beat Pine-Richland, Governor Mifflin, Hollidaysburg, State College, Wilson, Altoona along the way before beating P-O in the final.

The schedule

The league quarterfinals are scheduled for Oct. 18 at the Section Two champion. The Section One runner-up will meet the Section Two runner-up at 5 p.m., followed by the Section Two champ versus the Section Three runner-up at 7 p.m.

Hempfield and the Section Three champion will await the winners in the semis, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 19 at the home of the Section Three champ. The league final will be hosted by Manheim Township on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m.

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