Olivia Bilbow had 5 kills, 5 digs, 26 service points and 3 aces Friday to lead Holy Redeemer past MMI Prep in straight sets in a Wyoming Valley Conference girls volleyball opener between two teams that, in different ways, were starting over.
Holy Redeemer won by set scores of 25-7, 25-12, 25-9.
The Lady Royals had lost just two WVC matches in their first 13 years before losing three times last season to fall to fourth place in the conference.
MMI Prep did not play at all in 2020, sitting out the season for COVID-19 precautions.
Tessa Martin added five points in the Holy Redeemer win. Grace Nealon, Anne Carter and Megan Albrecht each had a pair of kills.
Allie Marciante had seven assists and eight points to lead MMI Prep. Grace Warner chipped in with three digs, two kills and two points.
Jiana Moran had 35 assists and 12 service points as Pittston Area made it through a tight match with Lake-Lehman to win in four sets, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 27-25.
Ava Butcher added 10 kills, 14 service points and 2 aces.
Tyra Winters had 19 points, 7 kills and 2 aces while Emma Rinaldi provided 14 points, 5 kills and 3 blocks.
The other WVC openers were won by Wyoming Valley West and Tunkhannock.
Wyoming Valley West rallied from a set down twice to beat Tunkhannock in five sets, 20-25, 25-15, 12-25, 25-15, 16-14.
Tunkhannock swept Wyoming Area, 25-11, 25-16, 25-22.
Abington Heights returned to Lackawanna League action after a year off for COVID-19 and swept Lackawanna Trail in three sets in a Division 1 match.
Blue Ridge and Susquehanna each won three-set matches in Lackawanna Division 2. Blue Ridge defeated Mountain View and Susquehanna topped Montrose.
Two non-league matches also results in 3-0 sweeps – Delaware Valley over Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain West over North Pocono.
GOLF
Dallas, Crestwood and Montrose all improved to 4-0 with victories.
Logan Paczewski shot 2-under-par, 34 at Irem Temple Country Club and two teammates broke 40 as Dallas downed Wyoming Valley West, 152-177, in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1-2 crossover.
Austin Finarelli added a 38 and Kyle Langan shot 39. Max Steinruck completed the team score with a 41.
Crestwood broke a three-match Pittston Area winning streak, 162-179, in a WVC Division 1-2 crossover that matched teams ranked in the Scranton Golf Center Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
The Comets are fourth among Big Schools and Patriots sixth.
Owen Blazick shot 38, Derek Johnson 39 and Tommy Biscotti 40 at par-36 Blue Ridge Trail to lead Crestwood.
Tyler Wassel’s 43 led Pittston Area.
Montrose won for the third time in four days and improved to 3-0 in Division 4 of the Lackawanna League where it is in first place. The Meteors shut out Elk Lake, 9-0.
Riverside expanded its lead in Lackawanna Division 2 by handing Dunmore its first divisional loss, 7½-1½.
Michael Maslanka had three birdies on the front nine at Elmhurst Country Club to lead the way for the Vikings, who improved to 4-0 in the division while Dunmore slipped to 2-1-1.
In other Lackawanna matches: Abington Heights blanked Delaware Valley, 9-0, in Division 1; Scranton defeated West Scranton, 7-2, in Division 2; Lakeland handled Carbondale, 7-2, in Division 3; and Blue Ridge defeated Forest City, 6-3, in Division 4.
Gavin June led Lackawanna Trail through a sweep of the first two foursomes, securing the first two points of a 6-3, non-league victory over Honesdale.
BOYS SOCCER
Host Wallenpaupack defeated rivals Western Wayne, 4-0, then Honesdale, 4-1, to claim the title of the Lakeside Classic.
Honesdale defeated Hamburg, 5-2, in its semifinal.
Hamburg took third with a 4-0 shutout of Western Wayne.
In non-league games: Wyoming Area defeated rival Pittston Area, 5-1; Pocono Mountain East edged Abington Heights, 3-2, in overtime; Blue Ridge shut out Hanover Area, 6-0; and Wyoming Seminary defeated Wilkes-Barre Area, 2-1.
Kendall Heck had a hat trick for Wyoming Area.
Liam Burke and Hayden Foland each added a goal and an assist.
Foland, a defender, opened the scoring by putting a 45-yard, direct kick over the goalkeeper’s head.
Kohen Stiles and Ryan Salony scored in the last 4:47 of regulation to rally Abington Heights from two goals down, but Pocono Mountain East recovered to score when Carlos Morris converted a corner kick in overtime.
Blue Ridge did all its scoring in the first half.
GIRLS SOCCER
Lilly Reilly had a hat trick as Scranton Prep shut out Scranton, 7-0, as they opened league play before the rest of Lackawanna League Division 1.
In non-league games: Lake-Lehman slipped past Wilkes-Barre Area, 3-2; Crestwood routed Hanover Area, 10-1; Hazleton Area edged Stroudsburg, 2-1; and Holy Redeemer blanked Pittston Area, 7-0.
FIELD HOCKEY
Brynn Shaffer assisted the first goal, then scored the next in the first nine minutes as Lower Dauphin shut out Wyoming Valley West, 3-0, in a meeting of two teams that entered the season ranked in the top 10 in the state, according to maxfieldhockey.com.
Lower Dauphin was sixth and Wyoming Valley West ninth in the rankings, which combine teams from all three enrollment classifications.
In other non-league openers: Wilkes-Barre Area handled Berwick, 8-1; Crestwood defeated Nanticoke, 6-1; and Honesdale shut out Pittston Area, 6-0.
MORE FRIDAY COVERAGE
Football games: https://nepasportsnation.com/fall-sports/football/.
Moravian Academy Lions Invitational cross country: https://nepasportsnation.com/ah-girls-win-boys-4th-at-invitational/.
Scoreboard: https://nepasportsnation.com/fridays-district-2-scoreboard-3/.
