Published: November 09, 2009 12:16 am      

Local briefs

Volleyball

UPJ sweeps Bluefield St.

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Ashley Hogan helped Pitt-Johnstown close out the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of Bluefield State on Saturday.

The Northern Cambria graduate had 14 kills, three service aces, a block solo and five block assists in the 25-21, 25-8, 25-5 victory.

UPJ (3-15, 1-13 WVIAC) is the No. 11 seed for this week's conference tournament, which begins Thursday in Charleston, W.Va.

Kristin Irwin and Nicole Houser each had nine kills, while Richland graduate Taylor Hrescak added six kills, two aces and eight digs. Taylor King had 36 set assists and 12 digs.

Bluefield State ends the season with a 3-15 record, including 1-13 mark in conference play.

Colts, Cougars close to home

North Star and Northern Cambria will stay close to home as the PIAA tournament opens on Tuesday.

Northern Cambria, which is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class A and beat second-ranked West Branch in four games on Saturday to win its sixth consecutive District 6 championship, will play Jefferson-Morgan at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Central Cambria High School. Jefferson-Morgan finished third in District 7.

North Star, which is ranked fourth in Class A, will play District 7 runner-up Greensburg Central Catholic at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Windber Area High School. The Cougars beat rival Windber last week to claim their sixth straight District 5 championship.

First-round winners will advance to pool play, which begins Friday in York.



SOCCER

Area teams set for playoffs

Five local soccer teams will be in action on Tuesday night as the PIAA playoffs begin.

Three girls squads will be in the Class AA field of 16. Windber will play District 7 runner-up South Park at

7 p.m. at Berlin, the same field where the Ramblers won the District 5 title last week. District 6 champion Richland plays District 4 third-place finisher Loyalsock at 4 p.m. at Hollidaysburg while District 6 runner-up Bishop McCort travels to Murrysville at 8 p.m. to face District 7 champion Springdale.

The District 5 champion Conemaugh Township boys will play District 3 third-place finisher York Catholic at Berlin at 5 p.m.

Westmont Hilltop, which captured the District 6 crown in Class AA, will play District 3 third-place finisher Palmyra at 6 p.m. at Hollidaysburg.



Basketball

Georgia Tech tops IUP in OT

ATLANTA – Gani Lawal scored

18 points and freshman Derrick Favors added 15 to lead No. 22 Georgia Tech to an 84-76 overtime exhibition win over IUP on Sunday.

Lawal had six points as the Yellow Jackets outscored the visitors 12-4 in overtime.

Favors, a 6-foot-10 forward, had nine rebounds and three blocks for Georgia Tech.

Akida Mcclain had a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds for Division II IUP. Darryl Webb and Thomas Young each added 12 points.

Pitt hammers Coker College

PITTSBURGH – Redshirt freshman Travon Woodall scored 21 points and Pitt shot nearly 55 percent from the floor as the Panthers beat Coker College 83-40 on Sunday in an exhibition game.

The Panthers jumped on the Division II school from South Carolina early and maintained constant pressure on both ends of the floor.

Pitt held Coker to 2-for-16 shooting in the first half and didn't allow a field goal until 3:56 remained in the frime. Nine Pitt players registered points in the first half as the Panthers took a 41-6 lead.

Gary McGhee scored 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting for Pitt.

Ricardo Smith had nine points for Coker.