NTL VOLLEYBALL: NORTH PENN-LIBERTY SWEEPS TOWANDA 3-0 TO MOVE TO DISTRICT IV 3A SEMIS (October 31, 2026)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportTOWANDA — North Penn-Liberty volleyball had spent a lot of time working on defending the net, and that work showed out in their 3-0 win over Towanda during District IV, Class AAA Quarterfinal action Saturday.
The Mounties essentially threw a block party, which was key in their wins of 25-19, 26-24, and 26-24.
"A shout out to Kendall Graham, that girl put up a monster block today," said NPL coach JoJo McNamara. "We were blocking almost every single practice, working on core strength, and getting those big hands up there."
It was a good sign for a team that had a long lay-off from their last regular season game.
"We've been off, I think, for 11 days, and they put the work in every single night at practice," McNamara said. "They came in with energy, and they did amazing. I'm very proud of them."
Towanda took a 3-0 lead to start the first set but saw the Mounties score six straight to go up 6-3.
Towanda regrouped with a timeout, then rallied for a 9-7 lead.
It was NPL's turn to rally after that, out scoring the Knights 8-2 during the next 10 points to take a 15-11 advantage.
Towanda never quite recovered as they watched NPL extend that lead to 21-14.
The Knights had one last rally in them, out scoring NPL 5-1 to make it 22-19, but NPL used three straight points after that to get the win.
The Mounties were in the groove offensively with 11 kills that first set.
"We worked a lot on reading the block, trying to swing around the block, above the block, wherever they could," McNamara remarked. "Our hitters did an amazing job just reading the block, and placing it where they weren't."
The second set saw NPL jump out to a 9-2 lead, but Towanda chipped away - largely behind seven straight points from Karis Flynn - to eventually tie it up at 15-all.
They didn't stop there, scoring three more points for an 18-15 lead.
Towanda was able to keep NPL at arm's length, going up 23-19 on a Kylee Barnes block.
However, the Mounties struck back, first with a Lilly McNamara kill, then a Victoria McTish block. A Towanda attack that landed out of bounds made it a 1-point game.
Coming out of a Black Knight timeout Barnes got a kill to put the Knights on the edge, but back to back NPL kills tied things up at 24-all.
An ace by McTish put them up 25-24, then Graham drove home the win with a kill.
The third set was tied 3-3 when NPL went on a 4-1 run to take a 7-4 lead.
The Knights cut it to 9-8 only to watch NPL score three straight for a 12-8 advantage.
Four straight points from Towanda would knot things up at 12-12, struck home with a Barrett kill.
That's when the teams traded points to 14-14 but a 3-0 run from Mounties, behind two kills from McNamara, put them up 17-14.
NPL would hold that lead until 22-22 as Kendall Kellogg served up three straight Towanda points.
After the teams traded errors a Hannah Crawford block put Towanda up 24-23, and NPL called a timeout.
McNamara got the tying kill coming out of the break, then Elaina Shaw got a kill to make it 25-24.
Fittingly, NPL ended the match with a Graham block for the 26-24 win.
Graham finished with seven blocks and added seven kills, while Lilly McNamara had 19 digs and 15 kills and Madison Smith had 30 assists and 17 digs.
Maddy McNamara had 29 digs, Oriana Staats had 10 digs, McTish had five kills and three blocks, Gabby Bubeck had 12 digs and six kills and Shaw had three kills, three digs and a block.
The Lady Mounties will get their rivals, Wellsboro, in the semifinals on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. start at Athens.
"It will be great," McNamara said. "We just faced Towanda for a third time. Playing a rivalry game in districts is always great. It's going to be high energy, and I'm really excited for the girls."
PHOTOS: Zack Johnson
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