Published: November 03, 2009 12:24 am      

Cougars cruise to win over Hornets

BOSWELL — North Star made quick work of Hyndman to put an end to a long day of District 5 volleyball.

The Cougars (18-0) beat the Hornets 25-15, 25-22, 25-12 in the quarterfinal and will face McConnellsburg in the semifinals at 6 tonight at Shanksville-Stonycreek.

McConnellsburg, the fourth seed, beat No. 5 Berlin Brothersvalley 22-25, 25-15, 25-11, 22-25, 15-9 in the other quarterfinal at North Star. Hyndman beat Meyersdale 25-15, 25-22, 25-12 in a play-in game, meaning that North Star’s players had to be at the gym from about 5 to 10 p.m.

“It was a long night,” North Star coach Tony Crisafulli said. “We were here early, had to sit and watch two matches. The four vs. five was a good match. Both teams played hard and played well. It just happened that McConnellsburg was in the right rotation at the end.”

North Star, which is ranked fourth in Class A according to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, didn’t have much trouble with Hyndman.

“After sitting all of that time, you don’t know what to expect,” Crisafulli said. “I was expecting us to be a little lethargic. I guess it’s easier to sit and watch than play and then sit and watch like Hyndman had to do. It was nice for them to come on strong and finish the match off.”

Emily Lohr led North Star with 23 kills. Karen Schmidt had seven kills and seven service points while Stefanie Miller had eight kills.

Chelsea Danel had 26 assists and 18 service points – including six aces – while Mackayla Maust had 11 service points with six aces.

“The girls served really well (Monday night),” Crisafulli said. “We missed some serves the first game, but after that we were able to serve and serve tough.”

Crisafulli saw enough of McConnellsburg to know that his five-time defending district champions won’t get a free pass into Thursday’s finals.

“We know we have our hands full,” he said. “They are a nice team. They play decent defense. We have a lot of work to do (tonight).”