The Paul VI High School volleyball team steamrolled through the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) tournament to win its fourth consecutive team title.

The Panthers, coached by Jamie Petrik, knocked off Seton in the quarterfinals (15-0, 15-4, 15-4), Good Counsel in the semi-finals(15-5, 15-12, 15-6) and O'Connell in the championship (15-8, 15-5, 15-6).

Both the semi-finals and finals were played at St. John’s College H.S. in Washington on Nov. 16-17.

The Panthers extended their consecutive win streak in the WCAC to 70 matches - an all-time WCAC record. They have not lost in the conference since 1998. "We really wanted to defend our title. We really wanted to win this match versus O'Connell. We went out there and had some fun," said co-captain Sheila Clarke.

Petrik said Lindsey Nolan, Mary Schambach and Dana Marona served very well in games one, two and three respectively versus the Knights. Schambach registered 15 kills in the match. Both Katie Spina and Sheila Clarke recorded five kills each. Debbie Bruen registered three blocks and two kills. Susan Alexander "set" the ball very well. Erin Kane played good defense.

He said that all five seniors — Nora Large, Schambach, Clarke, Alexander and Bruen — will be missed.

The O'Connell squad turned in its finest season in school history. The Knights defeated McNamara in the semi-finals, before bowing out to PVI in the finals. For the entire season, O'Connell's record stands at an impressive 19-4.

"Everyone on the team knew their role this year, and they played their roles very well. We were below .500 last season. This year’s team really wanted to win and we set some very specific goals for this season." said senior standout Hannah Porterfield. She is one of three seniors, along with Kate Bauer and Monica Escobar. Porterfield has signed with James Madison University next year.

PVI Wins Tennis Title

PVI’s women’s tennis team also doesn't play "second-fiddle" to anyone. The Panthers won their second consecutive outright WCAC tennis title Nov. 13-15 in College Park by thrashing nearly everyone in the conference.

All Panther participants advanced from the quarterfinals into the semi-finals and eight advanced into the finals.

PVI’s gold medal winners included [singles #1] sophomore Maria Sotirchos who defeated nationally ranked Madeleine Long of Holy Cross 10-7 in the finals;[singles #4] freshman Anita Sagar defeated Ireton 10-2 in the finals; [singles #5] junior Elena Lagos defeated Holy Cross 10-0 in the finals; [singles #6] junior Cathy Trenary defeated Ireton 10-6 in the finals; [doubles #3] senior Sarah and junior Suzie Sullivan (sisters) defeated Ireton 10-4 in the finals, and claimed their third consecutive tournament "sister-title."

"I was playing real consistently. I was determined to beat her. She led 7-6. I then won the last four points of the match. My teammates gave me a lot of confidence" said Sotirchos.

PVI's lone loss was a narrow 4-3 setback to perennial powerhouse Sidwell Friends.

"This was the first year that we were undefeated in the conference during the entire regular season. Last year we dropped a match to O'Connell. I knew going into the WCAC tournament that Holy Cross, Ireton and O'Connell were tough and were capable of scoring points. Though the tournament was stressful, it was also a lot of fun," said Panther head coach Craig Tutt.

The Ireton Cardinals were led by seniors Casey McLaughlin and Caroline Skelly.

The former knocked off her Holy Cross opponent in the semi-finals of singles #4, but bowed out 10-4 to PVI's Anita Sagar in the finals. The latter knocked off her O'Connell opponent in the semi-finals of singles #6, but bowed out 10-6 to PVI's Cathy Trenary in the finals.

"The team scores pretty much fell in line at the WCAC tournament according to their placement in the conference entering the tournament. Our seniors (McLaughlin, Skelly and also Kristen Wardell worked hard this season. They worked themselves up through the JV program over the last few years" said veteran coach Mike Hutton (the girls JV basketball coach as well).

The O'Connell Knights had a rebuilding season and only advanced senior Lindsey Driscoll/junior Alexa Marantette to the doubles #2 finals. They defeated Ireton in the semi-finals, but bowed out 10-8 to Holy Cross in the finals.

During the shortened season, the Lady Knights turned in a 5-6 overall record: two wins versus McNamara, and one win each versus: Good Counsel, St. Johns and Seton.

Ireton Wins Final Football Game

The Ireton Cardinals concluded their season with a 26-14 win versus the Riverdale Baptist Crusaders Nov. 13 in Alexandria. The Cardinals, coached by Brian Inman, finished the season with a 3-5 independent record

The eighth-seeded Paul VI Panthers dropped a tough 6-0 decision to the fifth-seeded McNamara Mustangs Nov. 16 in Forestville, Md. In the WCAC consolation semi-finals. The Panthers, coached by Mark Collier, currently weigh-in with an overall record of 1-8. The Panthers will conclude the season on the road versus either O'Connell or Carroll.

The sixth-seeded O'Connell Knights were scheduled to host the seventh-seeded Carroll Lions Nov. 19 in the other WCAC consolation semi-final. The result was too late to include in this edition.

Should the Knights win, they will travel to McNamara for the WCAC consolation championship. If they lose, they will host PVI.