By HUNTER O. LYLE
SMETHPORT, PA – Looking to build upon their program through trial and error, the Smethport volleyball team began their 2025 campaign with a loss to Coudersport, losing in three sets.
While the Lady Falcons managed to sneak into the District 9 Class A postseason bracket a season ago, ultimately losing as the ninth seed in the first round, the Lady Hubbers were forced to watch from home, earning just a single win on the season.
“It was a hard season. We have a very strong volleyball area I would say. We played some very strong teams and we were competitive in a lot of games, just only one of them went our way,” said Smethport head coach Mark Miller. “I’m really excited for this year. We have a really strong, young team.”
Returning five experienced letter winners to the team, Miller knows a complete turn around in the win column might be a tad unrealistic. Instead, he is just looking for steady progress.
“I don’t look at our goals as wins or losses. I don’t care about the record, I just want to see improvement,” said Miller, “both in the girls and the culture and in everything.”
Taking to their home court to christen the season, Smethport initially kept stride with Coudy. Despite falling behind 5-1 in the early goings, the Lady Hubbers mustered a brief scoring run to tie the game at 7-7. Deadlocked at 9-9, however, the Lady Falcons stole the momentum. With fluid passing and a crisp control of anything coming over the net, Coudy pulled away as the Lady Hubbers began missing the mark on shots that landed out of the zone or into the net. A 6-0 Coudy run eventually blossomed to 17-1, carrying them to a Set One win.
The second set was a similar story. After matching the Lady Falcons’ energy early with improved passing rather than frantic one-hit returns, Smethport eventually ran out of gas. A 10-8 deficit quickly grew as Coudy scored five unanswered points before pulling away with an 11-2 run. The Lady Falcons would pull ahead 2-0 on the evening, finishing on a 14-3 scoring blitz.
“It was just a lot of errors. It’s the young mistakes. A lot of players played junior varsity last year and they’re just getting used to it,” said Miller. “This was our first game. Coudersport already played a game so they kind of got their nerves out of the way.”
With the first game of the season on the line, the Lady Hubbers put their best foot forward. After weathering an initial scoring run, Smethport knotted the game at 6-6 before another momentary lapse set them back again, albeit, just by three. Staying determined with a handful of good serves and passes to their front line hitters, Smethport once again brought the game back to even at 12-12.
“We came in a lot stronger (to the third set,”) said Miller. “We made a lot fewer mistakes and were more confident.”
However, from there, the Lady Falcons went on the kill. Delany Wahlers opened up another run by collecting three aces in the span of four points while their net protector, Saige Fox, denied everything across the top alongside sending powerful slams back down onto the Lady Hubbers. Despite another round of streaky offense, Smethport eventually faced a sweep in the form of a 25-19 loss.
Alyssa Ayers finished with seven digs and six kills while Jenna Goodman ended with 10 assists. Chloe Conn and Kailyn Ruffner both ended with six digs each.
“Our defense is amazing. We’re getting to every ball, we’re at least getting a touch on it. I was really impressed with our defense, we’re just scrappy,” said Miller on his first impression of his team in action. “I think the errors are just something we have to clean up, hitting out of bounds, serving especially. That will come with time.”
