By ERIC KNOPSNYDER
YORK — The Northern Cambria volleyball team certainly will leave a legacy.
The Colts, whose motto this season has been “Take a stand, leave a legacy,” entered the PIAA Championships as the No. 1 ranked team in the state. They’ll leave that way as well.
Northern Cambria beat defending champion Reading Holy Name 3-0 in the title match on Saturday afternoon, claiming the school’s second crown in five years.
Seniors Janae Dunchack, Breanna Kochinsky, Ariel Rocco and Jess Rocco saw how the community reacted when the Colts won the championship in 2005.
“I remember them coming to the middle school and walking around with their trophy and thinking ‘Wow, I wish that would be us some day,’ ” said Kochinsky, an outside hitter.
Saturday was that day.
The Colts did it by defeating Holy Name, which was the only team to beat them in pool play on Friday. The championship looked nothing like the earlier match.
Northern Cambria cruised to a 25-14 victory in Game 1 and looked to be in control up 9-1 in Game 2, but Holy Name rallied to tie it at 14. Six lead changes and 13 ties later, the Colts took the lead for good on a Shawna Serafin tip on the way to a 30-28 victory.
“We had a chance to win the second game and didn’t win it,” Holy Name coach Rick Fidler said. “That was a real key point.”
But the Blue Jays weren’t about to give up their title without a fight. Holy Name sprinted out to an 8-1 lead in Game 3.
“We got a little shaken up,” libero Jess Rocco said of the poor start to Game 3.
“We missed some serves. But we weren’t afraid to hit. We weren’t afraid to serve hard. We didn’t back down from the challenge.”
Eight consecutive service points from Becky Krumenacker gave the Colts a
15-14 lead. Holy Name regained the advantage before Northern Cambria went in front for good at 20-19.
“If they win that game, I think it’s tough for us to come back,” said Northern Cambria coach Mike Hogan.
Outside hitter Ariel Rocco found an open spot on the far side of the court for the gamewinner in a 25-22 victory that brought the state title back to Northern Cambria.
“When that ball hit, it was just the best feeling ever,” she said. “I thought it was going to go out of bounds. I was just so thankful that it hit in bounds. When I saw them miss it, it was just great.”
That summed up Dunchack’s feelings as well.
“This is really great, to share a victory with everyone on the team,” the middle hitter said. “We’ve been working together to get to this point the last four years. It’s really great to finally get here.”
Last year, Northern Cambria was eliminated during pool play, and Hogan had a message for Dunchack, Kochinsky and the Roccos.
“They were just part of it last year,” he recalled. “I said, ‘You’re not part of it, you’re IT. You’ve got to make it happen next year.’ ”
They did. And now they’ll leave that legacy.
“We’re going to be remembered always as a team that won states,” Kochinsky said.
