Published: October 31, 2009 12:29 am      

HS ROUNDUP (Oct. 31): NT volleyball advances to finals

Delaney Laper had 25 kills, including 11 out of 16 attempts in the fifth game alone, to help the fourth-seeded North Tonawanda girls volleyball team to a 3-2 victory over top-seeded Lancaster in Friday’s Class AA semifinal.

Laper added 22 kills in the match; game scores were 25-10, 21-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22.

Lauren Metzger had 12 kills and 29 digs and Taylor Akins added 21 assists and 10 digs for the Lady Jacks (15-2 overall). NT will play second-seeded Frontier in the Class AA championship game Thursday at Daemen College.

“Taylor refused to lose in the fifth game, diving on the ground, setting balls. (Laper and Akins) turned it on huge in the fifth set,” NT coach Jessica Anderson said. Olivia DiPalma chipped in eight blocks for NT.

5-Grand Island 3, 8-Ken East 0

Chelsea Hall had nine kills and three aces and Mary Scherer had seven kills in the 27-25, 25-17, 25-19 victory, and the Vikings (10-7) will now meet sixth-seeded Hamburg, which upset Starpoint, in Thursday’s Class A championship game at Daemen College. Alex Dickson had eight kills and 13 digs for Ken East, while Andrea Smitzer had five kills and 11 digs.

6-Hamburg 3, 2-Starpoint 0

After knocking off third-seeded Lake Shore earlier in the week, Hamburg ended Starpoint’s season in the Class A semifinals. Allison Gillet had 10 service points, Veronica Crosby had 17 kills and Sydney Palka had 22 assists for the Spartans (13-6) in the 25-23, 25-22, 25-11 loss.

Girls Diving

NFL Championships

Ashley Keller of Lockport posted a score of 416 to take first place at the North Tonawanda High School natatorium. Grand Island’s Megan McInerney finished in second with a 399. Both Keller and McInerney qualified for states with their scores. Paige Kelkenberg (391) finished in third for Lockport as NT’s Samantha Johnson (367) notched a fourth-place finish. The swimming finals are slated to begin at 11 a.m. today.

Girls Tennis

Section VI Tournament

Allie Diamond and Molly Diamond of Kenmore West and the Grand Island duo of Julie Hasselbeck and Merle Schmid won their first-round doubles matches at the Lakewood YMCA in Jamestown, but both teams fell in the second round.

On the singles side, Miller Barmasse of Lockport fell to Williamsville North’s Tina Miller in round one, while the Lady Lions’ Andrea Licata was bounced by Carolyn Bristol of Orchard Park.

Girls Soccer

4-Orchard Park 2, 5-NT 1 (OT)

Ashley Griffin scored with six minutes left in overtime to lift Orchard Park to the Class AA quarterfinal victory. Kayla Hartnett of Orchard Park (11-6-1 overall) tied the game at 1-1 with three minutes left in regulation to force overtime. For the Lady Jacks (10-8), Emily Slominski scored on an assist from Colleen Wiechec. Meghan Lipinoga played well on defense and Christina Siroken was strong in net for NT.

3-Ken West 2, 6-Hamburg 1

Jenna Panepinto buried the game-winner with 12 minutes remaining, sending West to the AA semifinals, where they’ll meet No. 2 Clarence. Lexi Panepinto scored the game’s first goal. Hamburg’s Kaelyn Ganel tied it at 1-1 in the second half. Kirsty Webb was in goal for the Blue Devils, and made several key saves in the first half.

1-Grand Island 2, 8-Lew-Port 0

Kaitlyn Holt and Jordan Dudish scored for Grand Island in the Class A quarterfinal, both on assists from Jenna Raepple. Kristin Wegrzyn picked up the shutout for the Vikings (16-1 overall), who will host No. 4 Amherst in the semifinals. Lew-Port ends its season with a 9-9 record.