Bradford High volleyball coach Steve Burgess has been waiting all season for his team to turn the corner.
After the first half of the season was marred by the Lady Owls’ inability to close out games, Bradford did just that Thursday on Senior Night, rallying from two games down to beat Kane in five sets (22-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-5).
“These guys have been on a roll and they knew tonight was an important night being senior night,” Burgess said. “That last huddle there, we talked about we haven’t been able to finish teams really all season but we needed to finish this one tonight. They really stepped up and finished the game and played 150 percent. I’m really proud.”
Bradford finishes the regular season at 9-7. The Lady Owls open the four-team Class AAA playoffs Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. match at Punxsutawney.
Burgess added the win on Senior Night was of extra importance to the team and its veteran players.
“They were emotionally all week,” Burgess said. “We had a long practice last night. They all stepped up today and they did a really great job.”
Kamryn Piscitelli had 18 kills and went over 500 in her career, while Morgan Roggenbaum added 31 assists. She has more than 1,000 in her career.
Marcie Stanisch served Kane to a 6-0 lead in the fourth set with Kane up 2-1, but Bradford went on a 13-6 run to take a 23-21 lead it never relinquished.
From there, momentum swung permanently in favor of the Lady Owls with each point creating more buzz from the Bradford student section.
In the deciding fifth game, Bradford went out to an early 7-1 and 10-2 lead and didn’t let the Lady Wolves any opening to get back in the game, winning, 15-5.
Bryn Manion finished with eight kills and one-and-a-half blocks in her final home game.
“We had a talk yesterday,” Burgess said. “She knew she had some things she had to do today. We talked about errors and we talked if she had a good game, the team would do well because she’s a key player. She stepped up tonight.”
Likewise, Burgess also pointed out the play of Piscitelli.
“We rely on her constantly to run that outside over there,” Burgess said, “and a lot of pressure is on her to succeed and she does a good job. It was emotional for her tonight.”
Katie O’Neill added three blocks and Bri Buck had nine digs for the Lady Owls.
“I never give enough credit to the back row,” Burgess said. “They covered really well tonight. Bri Buck, I don’t mention often as much as I should, but she’s another one who continues to step up and play hard. She did a really great job too.”
The Lady Owls now have a few days of practice before their match against Punxsutawney. The winner of that contest moves on to play the winner of DuBois and St. Marys on Nov. 5.
