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<p>YATESVILLE &#8212; It was a quiet bus ride home from North Pocono after a three-set loss Monday night. Not a peep inside that Pittston Area bus.</p><p>Instead, head coach Danielle McAndrew went to modern technology. Yes, the ever-famous group chat message on the cell phone.</p><p>It was a simple statement about how the culture has changed within the program. And, apparently, it was received with open ears.</p><p>Portia Weidlich had a team-high 16 kills, freshman Emma Coles was stellar in the back row, and Pittston Area picked up a much-needed victory, 3-1, over Berwick Wednesday in Wyoming Valley Conference girls&#8217; volleyball play.</p><p>Set scores were 25-22, 25-21, 19-25 and 25-22. The victory helps Pittston (6-5) keep pace with Western Wayne for the final playoff spot in Class 3A, while the setback drops Berwick to 8-3.</p><p>&#8220;I told our girls that we had to start believing that we aren&#8217;t in that losing culture that we once were as a program,&#8221; McAndrew said. &#8220;This is my fifth year, and it took us this long to build the program that we are today. And we got back to working on our game, especially with our serves. This was an important game, and it keeps our playoff hopes alive.&#8221;</p><p>No doubt, each player heard the message loud and clear.</p><p>Pittston was down eight (16-8) in the opening set, and had a total of 16 errors. Yet, the Patriots just hung around.</p><p>Liz Charney hit spots. Kirsten Durling had timely one-overs. Weidlich found the middle of the court. Coles dug ball after ball toward the front.</p><p>Put it all together, and all of a sudden, that set-changing run. Pittston used a 17-6 advantage, including a 7-1 spurt, scoring the last four points of the first on Emily O&#8217;Brien&#8217;s serve.</p><p>Again, the Patriots needed a spark in the second.</p><p>Down 14-11, enter Weidlich. The junior killed four straight balls with Durling firing darts from the back row as Pittston again used a 14-7 run to close the set.</p><p>&#8220;We needed this game. This was like a playoff game for us,&#8221; Weidlich said. &#8220;That loss to North Pocono hurt, but that fueled our fire. That re-focused us, and I am so proud of this team because these girls came ready to play. I love these girls. Now, we have to keep it going the rest of our season.&#8221;</p><p>The real game-changer? That happened in the fourth set.</p><p>With Berwick gaining momentum, and leading 18-17, O&#8217;Brien sent an impressive free-ball heave from behind her own service line. Somehow, the ball narrowly missed the blue tarp above the court and floated toward the back-left corner on the Bulldogs&#8217; side where no one was standing.</p><p>From that point forward, Pittston outscored Berwick 7-2 to seal the victory.</p><p>&#8220;What was really great about tonight is everyone stepped up,&#8221; McAndrew said. &#8220;And it just wasn&#8217;t one person carrying the team. It was an entire group effort &#8211; right down to the bench. Liz was hitting spots on the court that I didn&#8217;t even know existed, and Emma really did a nice job digging those balls forward. This is a team win.&#8221;</p><p>Give Berwick&#8217;s Maddie Traugh credit. The senior did everything in her power to keep her team hanging around.</p><p>She finished with a match-high 28 kills &#8211; including 10 in the third set where Berwick led by as much as seven and won 25-19 to keep the match alive.</p><p>But a total of nine attack errors and two service miscues hurt the Bulldogs&#8217; changes of a comeback in the fourth.</p><p>&#8220;There is no excuses to come out and play undisciplined volleyball, which led to a lot of errors,&#8221; Berwick head coach Sarah Warner said. &#8220;The reason we have been so successful has been because of our discipline and focus. We just didn&#8217;t have it, and we weren&#8217;t ready to move. There is a lot of season left, and I hope this is a good learning lesson for our girls.&#8221;</p><p>Charney finished with 10 kills, while Coles added 18 digs. Durling finished with 33 assists for Pittston while Damaris Ayala added 35 assists for Berwick.</p><p><strong>Wyoming Valley West 3,</strong></p><p><strong>North Pocono 2</strong></p><p>The Spartans pulled out a narrow 22-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12, 15-13 victory over the Trojans.</p><p>Gracie Giza (24 kills, nine blocks, 11 service points, eight aces), Tessa Johns (30 assists, 14 points, three aces), Gabby LaBar (11 service points, six aces) and Audi Welles (15 service points, one ace) carried the play for Valley West.</p><p><strong>Nanticoke 3, Coughlin 0</strong></p><p>Jenna Lipowski (two aces, four kills, 15 assists), Shyla Seeholtz (nine aces, two kills, one assist), Kasey Radginski (12 kills, two blocks, one assist) and Jilann Baron (six kills, four blocks) led Nanticoke in a 25-14, 25-3, 25-7 sweep.</p><p>Coughlin was topped by Mykayla Timek (11 digs, two kills, three service points) and Mariely Herrera (seven digs).</p><p><strong>MMI Prep 3,</strong></p><p><strong>Tunkhannock 1</strong></p><p>Gabby Kupsho (two kills, six digs, 21 service points, four aces) and Lauryn Banyas (six kills, 15 assists, two digs, four service points, two aces) fueled the Preppers 21-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-22 win over the Tigers.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Pittston Area&#8217;s Kirsten Durling collected 33 assists to help the Patriots knock off Berwick in four sets on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball2-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pittston Area&#8217;s Kirsten Durling collected 33 assists to help the Patriots knock off Berwick in four sets on Wednesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball4-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Emma Coles led Pittston Area&#8217;s back row on Wednesday, finishing with 18 digs in a win over Berwick. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball4-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Emma Coles led Pittston Area&#8217;s back row on Wednesday, finishing with 18 digs in a win over Berwick. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball5-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pittston Area&#8217;s Emily O&#8217;Brien had a key play in the fourth set that halted Berwick&#8217;s momentum on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball5-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Pittston Area&#8217;s Emily O&#8217;Brien had a key play in the fourth set that halted Berwick&#8217;s momentum on Wednesday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball7-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Katie Evans and Berwick rallied to win the third set against Pittston Area on Wednesday before the Patriots closed things out in the fouth. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball7-3.jpg</photo3><caption3>Katie Evans and Berwick rallied to win the third set against Pittston Area on Wednesday before the Patriots closed things out in the fouth. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball6-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pittston Area&#8217;s Portia Weidlich (13) had a team-best 16 kills for the Patriots on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100516volleyball6-3.jpg</photo4><caption4>Pittston Area&#8217;s Portia Weidlich (13) had a team-best 16 kills for the Patriots on Wednesday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Fox</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pittston Area volleyball hits a turning point with win over Berwick