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Any time North Penn-Liberty and Wellsboro face off on the volleyball court, the fans are in for a treat. Thursday’s game between the two Tioga County rivals did not disappoint as the Lady Mounties swept Wellsboro 3-0 on Thursday, October 12 on their home court.

Thursday’s game was also Senior Night as the Lady Mounties honored Bailey Monks prior to the game.

“I knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Lady Mountie head coach Holli Smith. “Wellsboro always comes back second half really tough. They’re a big rival of ours, we got as prepared as we could and the girls came through for me.”

The first set was back-and-forth between both teams. Liberty eventually went up 23-20 late in the set on a monster kill from Brooke Harvey. Wellsboro battled back as Bri Keane set up Megan Starkweather for a cross-court kill to pull Wellsboro back to within 2, but the Lady Mounties closed out the set after a long volley as Maddison Minyo tapped the ball over the net and Wellsboro was unable to handle it, giving Liberty a 25-23 win.

Liberty dominated the second set and cruised to a 25-11 victory. The third set, however, resembled the first set’s back-and-forth play. Each team kept the score close and this time, the Lady Hornets had a late lead. Up 21-20 with the serve, Liberty’s Elli Fry tied it up at 21-21 on a block, then Wellsboro later tied it at 23-23 on a tip from Caitlyn Callahan.

Liberty would go on to take the set 25-23, and the match, as the Lady Hornets were unable to return Charisma Grega’s final serve.

Smith was cautious heading into the third set. In the last match between Liberty and Wellsboro, Liberty had a 2-0 lead before Wellsboro rallied for a third set win to force a fourth set.

“I always remind my girls that we have two down and to go for the third and not let up.”

Haley Monks led North Penn-Liberty with 8 kills, 2 assists, and 1 dig; Charisma Grega also led with 2 aces, 8 points, 8 kills, 13 receptions, and 15 digs; Brooke Harvey led defensively and offensively adding 2 aces, 7 points, 7 kills, 13 receptions, and 18 digs; Mariah Kshir assisted with 2 aces, 7 points, 2 kills, 1 block, 16 assists, and 1 dig; Maddison Minyo had 1 ace, 5 points, 6 kills, and 2 blocks; JoAnne McNamara added 6 points, 1 kill, 11 assists, and 4 digs; Savannah Doney had 1 ace, 8 points, 15 receptions, and 12 digs; and Elli Fry registered 3 kills and 4 blocks.

For Wellsboro, Megan Starkweather had 13 points, 2 aces, and 5 kills; Caitlyn Callahan had 7 kills and 6 blocks; Cheyenne Sherman had 4 points, 4 kills, and 12 digs; Brianne Keane had 17 assists, 5 points, and 1 ace; and Ryann Adams had 10 digs.

The win keeps the Lady Mounties’ perfect record intact at 15-0 while Wellsboro falls to 15-3 overall. Liberty has 5 matches remaining this season, three against NTL teams and two non-league contests against Horseheads and Corning from New York state. The Lady Mounties have four days to prepare for their next league match against Athens, before a tough match with Wyalusing.

“This will set us up really well for next Thursday,” Smith said. “We have to play Wyalusing and that will also be a tough match. The pressure is on. Going forward we just hope to keep our undefeated record.”