PIAA volleyball championships: Parkland one step closer to gold; Allentown Central Catholic eliminated

READING — The Exeter Township High School gymnasium went silent when Elena Pursell went down during the first point of the third set.

During that exchange, Parkland’s tallest hitter rolled her ankle and needed help off the court to be evaluated by athletic trainers.

At that point in the match, the Trojans were tied at one set apiece with Bishop Shanahan in Tuesday’s PIAA Class 4A semifinals.

Facing a potential big loss in the rotation, Parkland raised its level of play by spreading the ball out to a few other hitters.

Fortunately, Pursell, a middle hitter, returned later in the set. When she did, she helped put the finishing touches on the Eagles, resulting in a 3-1 [25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14] victory.

With the win, Parkland advances to the PIAA finals for the first time since 2016.

“I had no other option; I had to do it for my team. No pain, no gain,” Pursell said of her return, which resulted in a match-high 21 kills. “This is a collective group and we are all so excited. This is the best feeling ever and I can’t wait to have more days in the gym with these girls.”

With the exception of some uncharacteristic mistakes in the second set, Parkland was noticeably the superior team on Tuesday night.

Perhaps the Trojans were motivated by a revenge factor. After all, it was the Eagles who eliminated Parkland in the semifinals in three consecutive years (2017-2019).

This time around, the Trojans would not be denied. Eastern Pennsylvania Conference MVP Brynn Dreisbach made sure of it.

Dreisbach aided the Parkland offense with 16 total kills, but her defensive effort was what helped keep her team alive in long points.

The senior was seemingly all over the court against the Eagles offensive attack, as she tallied 14 digs. The Trojans’ defense was also backed by Maggie Smith (13 digs), Meredith Steirer (8 digs), and Sydney Johnston (7 digs).

Offensively, Sydney Esquires stepped up and took on a big-hitting role, finishing with 13 kills.

“We used all of our hitters and spread the ball out,” Dreisbach said. “It was tough when Elena got hurt, but we knew we could still win. We just had to keep playing hard and attacking.”

“This feels incredible. But the job is not done; it’s back to practice tomorrow.”

The turning point in the match came late in the third set when Pursell re-entered. The Trojans won the longest point of the night to pull ahead 22-21, which ignited the Parkland crowd and forced a Bishop Shanahan timeout.

The Trojans closed it out when Pursell put down a pair of kills, which deflated any hope the Eagles may have had. From there, Parkland went into cruise control and never looked back.

The Trojans remain unbeaten on the season with a record of 24-0, and now look ahead to Saturday’s finals, which will be played at Cumberland Valley High School at 6 p.m.

The championship round will undoubtedly be Parkland’s fiercest test, as North Allegheny (19-1) has won four consecutive state titles.

CLASS 2A

Allentown Central Catholic squared off against defending champion Trinity in the 2A semifinals on Tuesday evening.

The Vikettes were simply overmatched, falling to the Shamrocks, 3-0 [25-10, 25-18, 25-12] at Manheim Township High School.

Central finishes its season with a record of 13-8, while Trinity improves to 21-1. The Shamrocks will meet District 7 champion North Catholic in Saturday’s state finals.