Volleyball race extended

Coudersport had to postpone its celebration of the Northern Tier Volleyball League championship, as Port Allegany came to town and handed the Falcons their first loss of the season in a thriller Thursday night.

Coming off a huge win at Oswayo Valley earlier in the week, Coudersport fell in a fivegame marathon with plenty of excitement. It was a sweet win for Gator coach Sharon Daniels, who returned to the bench in Port Allegany after several years of success at Coudersport.

After the Falcons tied the match 2-2 with a 25-19 win in game four, they fell 15-13 in the deciding game. Coudersport still leads Oswayo Valley by a game in the Northern Tier League standing. The Falcons host Northern Potter Tuesday and close out the regular season Thursday at Otto-Eldred.

Jessica Wilson had a whopping 38 digs to go with 21 kills in Thursday's match. Karli Duffee dished out 38 assists. Megan Hau had seven kills and six blocks. Jordan Bright served for 20 points to go with 20 digs and five kills.

In other Thursday action, Austin used a team effort to top Cameron County 3-0. Whitney Crosby had 10 kills, 16 assists and a block for the winners. Casey Boucher contributed six kills and four digs. Rayna Valenti had seven kills and seven assists to go with 17 service points, with two aces. Hilary Gordnier served for seven points and had four digs.

Cameron County was led by Danika Grom (20 digs) and Brandi Lyon (14 digs, 3 kills, 2 aces).

In Tuesday's win at Shinglehouse, Coudersport dropped game three in overtime, 27-25, but put away the Green Wave 25-19 in the fourth game.

Sabrina Hershey came through with 26 digs to go along with 12 service points. Wilson showed why she's a shoo-in to repeat as Northern Tier League MVP, as she slammed 18 kills, while recording 21 digs. Duffee provided 26 assists. Hau had five blocks.

Cameron County lost in three straight to Northern Potter. Austin lost in four to Otto-Eldred.

N. Tier League Standings

Coudersport 11-1, Oswayo Valley 10-2, Northern Potter 7-5, Port Allegany 7-5, Otto-Eldred 6-6, Smethport 5-8, Austin 4-9, Cameron County 0-12.