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Courtney Dwyer’s two goals lead Lackawanna Trail to district field hockey title

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Business as unusual: Nigerian fresh from Wisconsin comes to Wilkes

<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; It sounds unusual. A team already locked into the playoffs regardless of the outcome, was facing a must-win match?</p><p>Yes, a strange pickle. But one Nanticoke faced Wednesday night at Dallas.</p><p>Win, and lock up a No. 3 seed in the upcoming District 2 Class 3A playoffs. A setback, and a totally different &#8212; and much tougher &#8212; path.</p><p>No problem for the Trojans as the team used strong serving from Courtney Mazonis, Shyla Seesoltz and Megan Murphy in a 3-0 victory over the Mountaineers in WVC girls&#8217; volleyball play. Set scores were 25-18, 25-13 and 25-20.</p><p>&#8220;I would say it was must-win,&#8221; Nanticoke coach Debbie Gavin said. &#8220;I&#8217;m glad that we got the victory, but the only part of our game that functioned well tonight was our serving, especially Courtney and Megan.</p><p>&#8220;Other than that, we were a little slow and didn&#8217;t execute real well. We are still an inconsistent team, and are too hot and cold.&#8221;</p><p>Two distinct paths. The victory puts Nanticoke (13-4) on the friendlier of the two.</p><p>A home match in Monday&#8217;s quarterfinal, most likely against District 4 representative Shamokin Area (8-7), awaits. That would be followed by a potential semifinal vs. Abington Heights should the Trojans beat the Indians. Plus, it means that Gavin&#8217;s squad won&#8217;t have to face top-seed Crestwood or WVC foe Berwick until the finals.</p><p>What would a loss have meant? For one, Nanticoke probably would have had to travel in the quarters. And two, the semifinal opponent would have been Crestwood, which already beat the Trojans early in the season.</p><p>That&#8217;s why this one was so important.</p><p>&#8220;Dallas gave us some trouble, but it was nice that we were able to pull through,&#8221; Trojans setter Jenna Lipowski said. &#8220;We were a little nervous because we knew this was a big game for us.&#8221;</p><p>Each set, Nanticoke used one big run to put some breathing room between itself and the Mountaineers.</p><p>A 6-0 run on Alyssa Lewis&#8217; serve in the first set, fueled by kills from Jilann Baron and Codi Hornlein, to build a 17-6 lead.</p><p>Multiple runs in the second. A five-point spurt with Murphy serving. Three straight points by Seesoltz. And the big blow coming late in the set as the Trojans scored the last 10 points &#8211; nine of them with Mazonis almost skimming the top of the net on her serve.</p><p>&#8220;That was a great moment for me,&#8221; Mazonis said. &#8220;In the beginning of the season, I was pretty consistent. But I went through a stretch where I started missing a lot. It feels good to kind of get back on track &#8211; especially at the end of the season where it matters the most.&#8221;</p><p>Dallas (5-12) fought in the third, and showed glimpses into its 2017 season.</p><p>Junior Hannah Vitale had four kills and one block. Sophomore Gianna Musto added three kills. And the Mountaineers were just hanging around, down 17-15.</p><p>But back-to-back spikes by Kasey Radginski led the Trojan charge as Nanticoke scored eight of the final 12 points of the set.</p><p>&#8220;We want to build on the fundamentals, and it&#8217;s important that we don&#8217;t lose what we gained during the offseason,&#8221; Dallas head coach Meredith Recek said. &#8220;We were young, and we are only graduating three. Our youth really got a chance to play this season.</p><p>&#8220;Looking ahead, I feel that we have a great deal of potential. And I think our girls know what they have and what we are capable of.&#8221;</p><p>Baron finished with a match-high 10 kills, while Radginski and Hornlein combined for 15 spikes and Lipowski added 30 assists.</p><p>Vitale and Musto each had five kills, while junior setter Caitlyn Pike added 11 assists.</p><p><strong>Berwick 3,</strong></p><p><strong>North Pocono 2</strong></p><p>The Bulldogs rallied from a 2-1 deficit on the road to claim a 25-11, 24-26, 15-25, 25-16, 15-5 win.</p><p>Hannah Bray led the Trojans with 10 kills and five aces. Heather Kramer added six kills, seven assists and three aces.</p><p><strong>Wyoming Valley West 3,</strong></p><p><strong>Hanover Area 0</strong></p><p>The Spartans brought home a 25-15, 25-23, 25-17 sweep.</p><p>Sarah Karpowich (one assist, one dig, four service points), Kaylee Cromer (four kills, one service point), Gabby Baiamonte (four kills, two digs, nine service points, six aces) and Kaitlyn Bradford (four kills, three blocks) topped the Hawkeyes.</p><p><strong>Meyers 3, Lake-Lehman 2</strong></p><p>In a match played Tuesday, the Mohawks held on for a tough road win over the Black Knights, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10.</p><p>Meyers was led by Da&#8217;Nayia Ballard (15 kills, 12 service points, nine digs, three blocks), Tattiana Monroe (12 kills, 15 digs, three blocks) and Chloe Delp (21 service points, four blocks, eight aces).</p><p><strong>Delaware Valley 3,</strong></p><p><strong>Coughlin 0</strong></p><p>In a match played Tuesday, the Warriors cruised to a 25-5, 25-2, 25-7 sweep of the Crusaders.</p><p><strong>COLLEGES</strong></p><p><strong>Misericordia 3,</strong></p><p><strong>Wilkes 0</strong></p><p>Tara Welliver had 14 kills for the Cougars in a 25-13, 27-25, 25-15 sweep. The Lady Colonels were eliminated from the Freedom Conference tournament race.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Gianna Musto of Dallas, left, and Jenna Lipowski of Nanticoke battle at the net during Wednesday&#8217;s match. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_dallasnanticoke02-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Gianna Musto of Dallas, left, and Jenna Lipowski of Nanticoke battle at the net during Wednesday&#8217;s match. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_dallasnanticoke03-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gianna Musto of Dallas sends the ball over to Nanticoke during Wednesday&#8217;s WVC match. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_dallasnanticoke03-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Gianna Musto of Dallas sends the ball over to Nanticoke during Wednesday&#8217;s WVC match. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_dallasnanticoke01-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Angelena Allen (29) of Dallas and Nanticoke&#8217;s Codi Hornlein match up at the net during Wednesday&#8217;s WVC match. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_dallasnanticoke01-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Angelena Allen (29) of Dallas and Nanticoke&#8217;s Codi Hornlein match up at the net during Wednesday&#8217;s WVC match. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></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>

Nanticoke girls volleyball secures an important win over Dallas