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Lady Falcons’ season ends with playoff loss to Burrell

By Rob Burchianti 4 min read
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BrownsvilleëƵs Skyler Gates blocks a Burrell return during Tuesday nightëƵs WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesburg Central.
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BrownsvilleëƵs Ashley Evanchak receives a Burrell serve during Tuesday night's WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesaburg Central.
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BrownsvilleëƵs Abigayle Thomas hammers a kill during Tuesday nightëƵs WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match against Burrell at Waynesburg Central.
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BrownsvilleëƵs Skyler Gates soars high to record a kill during Tuesday nightëƵs WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match against Burrell at Waynesburg Central.
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Brownsville's Lena Rechichar serves to Burrell during Tuesday night's WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesburg Central.
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Brownsville's Aijanae Foster returns the ball to Burrell during Tuesday night's WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesburg Central.
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BrownsvilleëƵs Skyler Gates receives a Burrell serve during Tuesday nightëƵs WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesburg Central.
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BrownsvilleëƵs Ashley Evanchak executes a jump serve during Tuesday nightëƵs WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match against Burrell at Waynesburg Central.
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BrownsvilleëƵs Emma Leigh Bailey sets the ball during Tuesday nightëƵs WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match against Burrell at Waynesburg Central.
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Brownsville's Kenzie Adams serves to Burrell during Tuesday night's WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesburg Central.
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Brownsville's Brooke Walters tries to set the ball for her teammates during Tuesday night's WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match against Burrell at Waynesburg Central.
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Brownsville head coach Rachael Salvucci gives instructions to her players in between sets during Tuesday night's WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoff match at Waynesburg Central.

WAYNESBURG ëƵ Brownsville got off to a good start but couldnëƵt sustain its early momentum and fell to Burrell, 3-0, in a WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball first-round playoff match at Waynesburg Central on Tuesday night.

The No. 8 Lady Falcons built a 16-10 lead in the opening set that forced the No. 9 Lady Buccaneers to call a timeout. Burrell responded by out-scoring Brownsville 15-5 the rest of the set for a 25-21 win and controlled the match the rest of the way, taking sets two and three by scores of 25-9 and 25-20.

Brownsville, which finished second to Waynesburg in Section 5, ends its season with a 14-3 overall record.

ëƵIëƵm always happy and grateful when we can make the playoffs but obviously I would like for us to advance,ëƵ Lady Falcons coach Rachael Salvucci said. ëƵWe just still have a lot of things we have to work on and I hope they do that and carry it on into next year.

ëƵWe just struggled with passing and serving today. Usually our serves are on and we wonëƵt miss as many as we did. We missed four serves in that first set and we lost by four.ëƵ

It was the last match for Brownsville senior and University of Virginia recruit Skyler Gates who helped the Lady Falcons take an early 7-3 lead with three kills, two on blocks. Abigayle Thomas contributed a block among three kills to help Brownsville build its six-point lead.

The tide shifted with Delaney Ploskunak serving for Burrell (15-2) during a six-point run that tied the score. A block kill by Gates put Brownsville back in front but the Lady Buccaneers went ahead to stay with a point on an unforced error for a 19-18 advantage.

Burrell dominated the second set, reeling off 11 points in a row at one point to increase a 9-6 lead into an insurmountable 20-6 advantage and went on to win by 16.

ëƵBurrell moved at a very fast speed that unfortunately we couldnëƵt keep up with all the time,ëƵ Salvucci said. ëƵTheyëƵre definitely comparable to Waynesburg with their quickness and being smart. They had some strong hitters and we were delayed in our reactions tonight for some reason.ëƵ

Burrell rushed out to a 6-2 lead in the third set and built the margin up to as much as seven. Brownsville continued to battle and whittled the gap to three twice, 17-14 on back-to-back service aces by Gates and 22-19 on a kill by Gates.

The Lady Buccaneers took three of the final four points to close out the match.

Gates had 10 kills, five blocks and two service aces to lead the Lady Falcons. Abigayle Thomas had five kills and Aijanae Foster added four kills.

Salvucci looked on the bright side for her team after the defeat.

ëƵWe had a lot of things we accomplished,ëƵ Salvucci said. ëƵWe ended up with only three losses, we won the FCCA tournament, we won the Beth-Center tournament, Skyler got to 1,000 kills. We had a great season as a team in that everybody got along and meshed well and it felt like a family.

ëƵI told them IëƵm proud of them for making the postseason. Not every team gets to experience this. But they have to try to realize what they have to do to get better for next season. I want to be able to take us to the next level.ëƵ

It was the last match for BrownsvilleëƵs Gates and senior Cyan Eilam. Gates leaves a big hole to fill but the Lady Falcons will have plenty of experience returning next season.

ëƵWe have some juniors that with some more work over the summer have the ability to really pound the ball,ëƵ Salvucci said. ëƵWe have a lot of rising sophomores and we had a great, talented freshmen class.

ëƵAs for Skyler, oh my gosh weëƵre going to miss not only her talent but what a great teammate she was. We are her No. 1 fans and weëƵre so looking forward to support her in her future endeavors. Everyone loves Skyler and we enjoyed our time with her.ëƵ

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