WAYNESBORO, Pa. – It’s not often that the Waynesboro Maidens varsity volleyball team sweeps the Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils. The two are cross-county rivals and have played some memorable matches over the years.
But on Tuesday, Waynesboro turned in a dominant performance, defeating Greencastle in straight sets, 25-9, 25-19 and 25-16 inside the Waynesboro Area Senior High School gymnasium.
Following the match, there was a short tribute to the late Kim Saunders, who died on July 27. Saunders served as the head coach of Maidens volleyball from 2012 until her passing.
Maddie Nystrom and Kara Eskridge served for two aces apiece, accounting for four of six aces in the first set. Nystrom served to start the opening set.
Waynesboro was firing on all cylinders as it vaulted out to a 14-2 lead. The Maidens put on a solid display on serve, serve-receive, blocking, setting and spiking. They also capitalized on Blue Devils errors.
Eskridge took over serve with Waynesboro leading 4-2. She proceeded to collect back-to-back aces and ran off 10 straight points. Chloe Shacreaw, one of only three seniors on the roster, recorded two kills during the run.
Sarah Aldrich, who contributed a pair of kills in the first set, served the final three points, including an ace for the final point.
The second set was more competitive, with Greencastle-Antrim leading 13-12 before Waynesboro took control of things. A serving error gave the Maidens a side-out point. Shacreaw served the next two points, with the first point following a receive-set-kill sequence from Kayaunna Mouer, Eskridge and Nystrom that gave Waynesboro a lead it would not lose.
Leading 16-14, the Maidens’ Bryn Reed served the next three points to give the Maidens a 19-14 lead. Waynesboro scored six of the next nine points to forge a 2-0 lead.
The third set was closely contested, much like the second set. Though the Maidens held the lead after breaking a 5-5 deadlock with four consecutive points, Greencastle-Antrim was within striking distance.
But Waynesboro didn’t allow the Blue Devils any closer than three points, and that was at 15-12. The Maidens went on to score 10 of the next 14 points to end the match. Nystrom served up two aces, which bookended a kill by Shacreaw.
The Maidens improved to 7-5 and are in the midst of a four-match winning streak. Waynesboro’s next match is Saturday at home against Mifflin County. The junior varsity match starts at noon, followed by varsity.
Photos by Toya McCleary:
