ST. MARYS — Elk County Catholic hosted Clarion Tuesday night in the District 9 1A semifinal, and the Crusaders’ hopes to repeat as state champions ended as the Bobcats won (19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-15, 15-7).

The first set began very competitively. The two teams fought their way to an 11-11 tie with neither team being ahead by more than one point. ECC got the advantage when they were up 20-16, the Crusaders then cruised to an opening set victory winning 25-19.

The beginning of the second set was similar to the first as it was tied 9-9. Clarion was the team to establish a healthy lead this time around though as they were ahead 18-12. The Crusaders quickly made it 18-15 but that was the closest they could get as Clarion took 7 of 9 points to win 25-17.

ECC built a 4-1 lead to open the third set, the Bobcats recovered and tied the score 5-5. The two teams battled as the set went on and they were still tied when it was 12-12. ECC won four points in a row to go ahead 16-12, but Clarion still kept within arms distance and slowly worked it back to a 20-20 tie. ECC still made the necessary plays in the big moments at the end of the set to get 5 of 7 points and earn a crucial 2-1 set advantage as they won the third set 25-22.

Clarion then seemed to have an extra gear as elimination was waiting if they lost another set. The Bobcats opened with a 7-1 lead that included a kill and an ace from senior outside hitter Hadlee Campbell. ECC fought back to make the score 10-7, but that was the closest they got.

Bobcat junior hitter Marley Kline got two kills in a row to make it 12-7, it was all downhill from there for the Bobcats as they dominated the Crusaders the rest of the way, winning the set 25-15 and forcing a fifth set.

Clarion rode the momentum going into the crucial fifth set. They opened with a 6-2 lead, and never let ECC get back into it. After having an 11-6 advantage, the Bobcats closed the set and match winning 15-7 including two more kills from Campbell.

“I think that our serve-receive got a little hectic at times,” ECC head coach Kelsey Morey said about the final two sets. “We weren’t getting as much pressure on them, therefore they got some points on us. I think that match could have gone either way, I’m proud of how the girls battled.”

For Clarion, Kline led the team with 27 kills and 23 digs. Campbell added 21 kills and 12 digs while sophomore setter Addi Campbell had 56 assists. “Kudos to Clarion, they played a great match,” Coach Bauer said.

Clarion has now clinched a spot in the state playoffs. Clarion-Limestone, who won 3-0 over Keystone in their semifinal matchup, now awaits for the Bobcats in the District 1A Championship on Thursday.