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Dorothy ‘Stella’ Scrobola, whose obituary caused a stir, recalled for humor, compassion

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Kids Listings: May 1 to 7, 2015

COVINGTON TWP. &#8212; There was a different feel.You can sense the raw emotion. The urgency. The momentum swings.When you get this close to the postseason, every piece of the puzzle stands out a little more.North Pocono was able to get the key points in opportune times, and Nanticoke didn&#8217;t have its normal pin-point passing as Pocono swept GNA, 3-0, in a key Wyoming Valley Conference volleyball matchup Wednesday in Lackawanna County.Scores were 25-23, 25-22 and 25-23.While the victory keeps North Pocono one game away from undefeated Holy Redeemer in the conference, the victory had bigger playoff implications &#8211; giving Pocono the upper hand over Nanticoke in the District 2A race.And the difference between the third and fourth seed is big. Just ask NP head coach Jud Holdredge.&#8220;We didn&#8217;t talk about the playoffs because you don&#8217;t want them to be nervous. But definitely, this was huge because it will keep us away from Holy Redeemer until the finals,&#8221; he said.&#8220;Nanticoke pushed us. This was a playoff-type game. You could just see the momentum switch at the end of the final two sets. It was an awesome game. Very close, and very tense. I wish we had this in our league every night.&#8221;You couldn&#8217;t ask for tighter sets.Tied at 23 in the first and third stanzas. Knotted at 22 in the second.And each time, North Pocono found a way to scratch those final tallies.A kill by Sean Coles, and a block by Matt Morris in the first.Two big swings by Tyler Pittsman in the second.A Sean Cummings kill and a bad Nanticoke pass that sailed out of bounds in the third.Six points won at the most crucial moments.&#8220;This was the difference between second and third place in the conference,&#8221; Morris said. &#8220;We practice hard, and it prepares you for these moments. It&#8217;s what our coach preaches. We knew that we had to step up and get this one.&#8221;Nanticoke, one of the better back-to-front passing teams in the league, was just off a bit.It was evident in the first set where Pocono jumped out to a 13-4 lead, while Debbie Gavin&#8217;s club couldn&#8217;t get the ball to setter Eddie Lukowski in key spots.&#8220;We didn&#8217;t pass the ball well, and we dug a hole by doing that,&#8221; Gavin said. &#8220;And give them credit because they did a nice job on Matt Winters. We didn&#8217;t show up in our passing. We couldn&#8217;t get the ball to our setter, and that meant he couldn&#8217;t get it to our hitters. That&#8217;s the bottom line. We&#8217;ve done well all season, except for today when we really needed to pass well.&#8221;The Trojans had their chances.Nanticoke led 19-14 in the second set, only to see North Pocono answer with an 11-3 run to close &#8211; sparked by a combined six kills from Morris and Pittsman.Gavin&#8217;s group held a six-point edge (19-13) in the third. Again, NP responded by ripping off 12 of the final 16 points.&#8220;This team has heart. They never quit,&#8221; Holdredge said. &#8220;That&#8217;s all the hard work that we do in practice. It helps to get them over the hump. You teach them that if they work hard and finish in practice, it will pay off in the match.&#8221;Robert Burke had 15 kills to pace Nanticoke, but North Pocono did an outstanding job on senior hitter Winters, holding him to just eight kills on the night.Morris and Pittman combined for 22 kills to pace NP.Wyoming Valley West 3, Lake-Lehman 0Jordan Ellsworth recorded 12 kills, four digs and one ace as the Spartans swept Lake-Lehman 25-20, 25-11, 25-15.Ian Ultsh finished with three kills and two service points and Hunter McGrane chipped in with nine kills and five blocks in the win.Lake-Lehman&#8217;s Bernard Karlowicz had two service points and eight digs, Collin Masters recorded five kills and one block and Zachary Corey finished with three kills and four blocks.District 2 Boys Tennis Championships The 2015 District Boys Tennis Team Championships will kick off on Friday.For the opening round, teams will play at the higher seed, with both Class 2A and 3A opening matches starting at 4 p.m. In Class 2A, Wyoming Seminary (10-0) earned the top seed and Abington Heights is the No.1 seed in Class 3A.The championships will take place at Kirby Park on Tuesday, May 5.Wyoming Seminary 3 Delaware Valley 2After dropping the first set, Eamon Gibbons rallied to take the next two and win the No. 1 singles match 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.Teammate Adrian Sung won No. 3 singles, while the Blue Knights duo of Dominik Bohl and Andrew Kim took the No. 2 doubles match in straight sets.RugbyBreakers down SyracuseThe Wilkes-Barre Breakers continued their winning ways with a sweep of the Syracuse Chargers RFC in rugby doubleheader action on April 25. The opening contest saw Ty Freas, Steve Turner, Vern Castrogiovanni and Justin Seabridge put up scores in the 22-10 victory. Zach Seabridge, Adam Rhodes and Steve Rosar all found the try zone in the 21-12 late match win. The Breakers continue their current homestand Saturday hosting the Schuykill River RFC. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Kirby Park.College TennisWilkes 5, FDU-Florham 0The Wilkes University women&#8217;s tennis team posted wins in all three doubles matches before capping the match with two singles wins on way to a 5-0 victory over fourth seed FDU-Florham in the Freedom Conference semifinals Wednesday afternoMisericordia 5, King&#8217;s 2The Misericordia University women&#8217;s tennis team advanced to the Freedom Conference championship match with a 5-2 win over King&#8217;s, Wednesday.Nellie Chmil and Linsey Parks were double-winners for the Cougars while Madeline Griffin won twice for King&#8217;s. Chmil teamed with Carly Young for an 8-1 at second doubles and won 6-0, 6-0 at fourth singles.Men&#8217;s LacrosseEastern University 17, King&#8217;s 4Defending champion and top-seeded Eastern University built a 7-3 halftime led, then outscored visiting King&#8217;s College 10-1 in the second half as the host Eagles posted a 17-4 victory in the semifinals of the Freedom Conference Tournament Wednesday in St. Davids.King&#8217;s season ends at 6-8.2015 District 2 Class 3A Boys Tennis Team ChampionshipFriday, May 1No. 5 Wyoming Valley West (3-7) at No. 4 North Pocono (10-4), 4 p.m.No. 6 Hazleton Area (2-8) at No. 3 Delaware Valley (11-3), 4 p.m.Tuesday, May 5Semifinals at Kirby Park WVW/North Pocono winner vs. No. 1 Abington Heights (14-0), 11 a.m.Hazleton Area/Delaware Valley winner at No. 2 Williamsport (11-1), 11 a.m.Championship at Kirby ParkSemifinal winners, 2 p.m.2015 District 2 Class 2A Boys Tennis Team ChampionshipFriday, May 1No. 5 Valley View (11-3) at No. 4 Berwick (8-2), 4 p.m.No. 6 Dallas (7-3) at No. 3 Tunkhannock (8-2), 4 p.m.Tuesday, May 5Semifinalsat Kirby Park Valley View/Berwick winner vs. No. 1 Wyoming Seminary (10-0), 12:30 p.m.Dallas/Tunkhannock winner vs. No. 2 Scranton Prep (13-1), 12:30 p.m.Championshipat Kirby ParkSemifinal winners, 3 p.m.Wyoming Seminary 3, Delaware Valley 2SINGLES &#8212; Eamon Gibbons (WS) d. Devin Paulison 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Matt Falkenburg (DV) d. Andrew Schukraft 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Adrian Sung (WS) d. Tyler Casey7-6, 6-1.DOUBLES &#8212; Alex Smashiner/Andrew Seepes (DV) d. Michael Kim/Richard Hughes 7-6, 6-4; Dominik Bohl/Andrew Kim (WS) d. Kevin Osczepinski/Pete Genovas 6-1, 6-1.

North Pocono gains upper hand in District 2A Boys Volleyball race