Waynesburg Central’s girls volleyball team made history on Tuesday night by earning the program’s first state‑playoff win. The Raiders defeated host Chestnut Ridge in four sets, 25‑27, 25‑19, 25‑22 and 25‑15, to move on to the PIAA quarterfinals against WPIAL champion Freeport.
Team effort fuels historic victory
Coach Dan Higinbotham praised the collective effort, saying, “It’s another step in the right direction. We’re still advancing and now we’ve gotten further than we ever have before. It makes me very proud.” The Raiders improved to a 20‑1 overall record, highlighted by balanced contributions across the lineup.
Senior Harper Grimes led the way with a versatile stat line—10 kills, 11 digs, five blocks and four aces—while Chatham Knight recorded her 1,000th career assist alongside 10 digs and two kills. Other key performers included Railey Bochna (14 kills, 16 digs, three aces), Emily Rafferty (10 kills, six digs, two assists, two aces), Lelia McCollum (21 digs, six aces), Emma Blair (8 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces, 3 digs) and Julia Fisher (2 digs).
Travel and community support
The team’s early arrival in Bedford helped keep the players rested. Higinbotham noted, “The school sent us out the night before, put us up overnight, and that made it a real relaxing, fun time for the kids.” The Raiders enjoyed a brief sightseeing break—candy store, craft activities and a walk around town—before heading to the court.
Fans turned out in strong numbers, nearly matching the home crowd. “I felt we had almost as many fans as they did,” Higinbotham said, adding that the community’s support was “very impressive and much appreciated.”
Game flow and resilience
The opening set was tightly contested, with Chestnut Ridge building an early lead before Waynesburg rallied to force a deuce. Higinbotham observed, “We dug ourselves a real deep hole at the beginning of the first set… we were down by about nine, but we fought back.” After dropping the first set, the Raiders responded by winning the next three, showcasing the team’s habit of bouncing back from setbacks.
“We haven’t lost a lot of sets this year, but every time we have, we’ve responded well,” Higinbotham explained. “The next two sets were neck and neck, we fell in a hole in the second set too, but dug out and won that one, and the next one.” The decisive fourth set saw Waynesburg’s serving surge, allowing them to close out the match convincingly.
Leadership and mindset
Higinbotham highlighted the mental steadiness of seniors Emily Rafferty and Lelia McCollum, saying they keep the team “grounded and moving forward.” He also commended the entire roster for staying “in the right frame of mind” throughout the tournament.
After the win, the coach congratulated his players on making school history, noting the excitement that rippled through the locker room. “They went nuts,” he recalled.
Season context
This victory builds on a remarkable two‑year run. A year ago the Raiders reached the WPIAL semifinals and earned their first PIAA berth. This season they not only matched that achievement but surpassed it with the state‑playoff win. Waynesburg finished the regular season unbeaten for the second straight year, captured the Section 4‑3A championship, and posted victories over Quaker Valley, South Allegheny and Seton LaSalle in the WPIAL playoffs before falling to Avonworth in the semifinals.
The Raiders now look ahead to a quarterfinal showdown with Freeport, the WPIAL champion, with the date and venue still to be determined.
Original reporting: Herald-Standard – latest news for Uniontown, Pennsylvania — read the source article.
