The Waynesboro Area Senior High School varsity volleyball team has put together a fantastic 2026 season.
From the unexpected passing of longtime head coach Kim Saunders to the installment of assistant coach Emily Nystrom in late July, the Maidens have made their coaches proud and have honored the memory of Saunders.
Waynesboro completed the regular season with an exciting five-set victory over Bishop McDevitt on Oct. 20. The Maidens finished the regular season with a 14-6 record and the Mid-Penn Colonial Division championship. Waynesboro went 8-2 in divisional matches, clinching the title with a three-set win over West Perry on Oct. 14.
The District 3-6A playoff brackets were released earlier in the week, and Waynesboro has been designated as the eighth seed. As such, the Maidens will host the Chambersburg Trojans on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8. Tickets can be purchased online at events.hometownticketing.com. Click volleyball. All tickets must be purchased online. No passes will be accepted. This includes Senior Gold Cards and WASD staff.
Waynesboro defeated Chambersburg during the regular season, winning in five sets at Chambersburg on Sept. 21. The victory occurred during a six-match win streak. The Maidens won 11 of their final 12 matches of the season.
That was then. This is now.
PENN STATE PROUD: I’m wondering if Penn State’s Athletic Director Pat Kraft is feeling the stress (and perhaps guilt) after his unceremonious firing of James Franklin in mid-October 2025. Franklin was in his 12th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions football team.
Two years ago, Penn State was a win away from playing in the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game against Ohio State. The Lions lost a heartbreaker to Notre Dame in the semifinals, 27-24.
Then, after winning the first three games of the 2025 season by a combined score of 132-17, Penn State lost three straight games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern, Kraft, who makes a guaranteed financial compensation of $2.26 million per year with potential performance-based bonuses of $350,000 per year, reached a boiling point – or had a temper tantrum.
The fallout was quick and costly. The university lost two recruiting classes (2026 and 2027). New head coach Matt Campbell wasn’t hired until Dec. 8, 2025. Interim head coach Terry Smith worked wonders after losing his first three games. Penn State won its final four games and nearly beat eventual national champion Indiana at Beaver Stadium. The Hoosiers needed a last-minute rally to beat the Nittany Lions 27-24.
Kraft’s lack of restraint is proving to be consequential to the football program. Despite all the criticism of Franklin’s lack of success against Top 25 teams, he and his coaching staff recruited quality talent. They might not have been five-star players, but together they played like it, especially against teams they were supposed to beat.
It may take years for Penn State to catch up. The current roster includes more than 20 former Iowa State players, who played for Campbell. Sadly, they don’t measure up to the players who were brought to Penn State, either from other college football programs or out of high school. In the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) era, the way to build a program is the grassroots way – recruiting. Otherwise, the sport is comparable to a free-agent frenzy with players who will play for one year and be gone.
Moreover, the identity of Penn State football is gone. You can argue that the passing of Joe Paterno, who coached the Nittany Lions for close to 46 seasons, is like a curse. Sure, Penn State has had winning seasons since the 2011 season but has not played with the dominance and prowess of Paterno-coached teams, who brutalized opponents and left no doubt that Penn State football is at the top of the food chain.
No longer.
Nevertheless, if you are Penn State, then you will hold the line, hold fast to the hope that somehow the program can turn it around. It may take the firing of Kraft to do it.
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Waynesboro volleyball set to host Chambersburg in district playoffs – and more
The Waynesboro Area Senior High School varsity volleyball team has put together a fantastic 2026 season.
From the unexpected passing of longtime head coach Kim Saunders to the installment of assistant coach Emily Nystrom in late July, the Maidens have made their coaches proud and have honored the memory of Saunders.
Waynesboro completed the regular season with an exciting five-set victory over Bishop McDevitt on Oct. 20. The Maidens finished the regular season with a 14-6 record and the Mid-Penn Colonial Division championship. Waynesboro went 8-2 in divisional matches, clinching the title with a three-set win over West Perry on Oct. 14.
The District 3-6A playoff brackets were released earlier in the week, and Waynesboro has been designated as the eighth seed. As such, the Maidens will host the Chambersburg Trojans on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8. Tickets can be purchased online at events.hometownticketing.com. Click volleyball. All tickets must be purchased online. No passes will be accepted. This includes Senior Gold Cards and WASD staff.
Waynesboro defeated Chambersburg during the regular season, winning in five sets at Chambersburg on Sept. 21. The victory occurred during a six-match win streak. The Maidens won 11 of their final 12 matches of the season.
That was then. This is now.
PENN STATE PROUD: I’m wondering if Penn State’s Athletic Director Pat Kraft is feeling the stress (and perhaps guilt) after his unceremonious firing of James Franklin in mid-October 2025. Franklin was in his 12th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions football team.
Two years ago, Penn State was a win away from playing in the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game against Ohio State. The Lions lost a heartbreaker to Notre Dame in the semifinals, 27-24.
Then, after winning the first three games of the 2025 season by a combined score of 132-17, Penn State lost three straight games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern, Kraft, who makes a guaranteed financial compensation of $2.26 million per year with potential performance-based bonuses of $350,000 per year, reached a boiling point – or had a temper tantrum.
The fallout was quick and costly. The university lost two recruiting classes (2026 and 2027). New head coach Matt Campbell wasn’t hired until Dec. 8, 2025. Interim head coach Terry Smith worked wonders after losing his first three games. Penn State won its final four games and nearly beat eventual national champion Indiana at Beaver Stadium. The Hoosiers needed a last-minute rally to beat the Nittany Lions 27-24.
Kraft’s lack of restraint is proving to be consequential to the football program. Despite all the criticism of Franklin’s lack of success against Top 25 teams, he and his coaching staff recruited quality talent. They might not have been five-star players, but together they played like it, especially against teams they were supposed to beat.
It may take years for Penn State to catch up. The current roster includes more than 20 former Iowa State players, who played for Campbell. Sadly, they don’t measure up to the players who were brought to Penn State, either from other college football programs or out of high school. In the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) era, the way to build a program is the grassroots way – recruiting. Otherwise, the sport is comparable to a free-agent frenzy with players who will play for one year and be gone.
Moreover, the identity of Penn State football is gone. You can argue that the passing of Joe Paterno, who coached the Nittany Lions for close to 46 seasons, is like a curse. Sure, Penn State has had winning seasons since the 2011 season but has not played with the dominance and prowess of Paterno-coached teams, who brutalized opponents and left no doubt that Penn State football is at the top of the food chain.
No longer.
Nevertheless, if you are Penn State, then you will hold the line, hold fast to the hope that somehow the program can turn it around. It may take the firing of Kraft to do it.
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