A spectacular 15-1 regular season for the girls' volleyball team not only earned the Lady Bears a spot in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, but it also dropped them directly into the semifinals, courtesy of winning the Section Two title. That meant an October 20th semifinal battle with Conestoga Valley in Elizabethtown. The Lady Bears started slowly with wins of 25-19 and 25-22 but closed out strong with a 25-10 game three win, securing the 3-0 sweep.

Hailey Oller finished with 25 assists while Liz Kerin and Chloe Merkt both posted a team high 11 kills. Kerin added four blocks with Jacqueline Raybold tacking on two aces. Paige Horst posted 22 digs.

That sweep earned E-town their second consecutive L-L finals trip, opposite Hempfield on October 22nd. The Lady Black Knights handed Elizabethtown another silver medal, posting wins of 25-19, 25-9 and 25-10 with the Lady Bears earning a 25-23 game three win to avoid the sweep.

"Saturday was a huge stage for us," said head coach Katrina Shelly. "I was super proud of the girls for putting in the effort to make it there."

Horst tallied 35 more digs while Oller dished out 18 assists. Kerin finished with 12 kills and one ace while both Jadyn Lloyd and Bella Lutter had two blocks.

With the L-L playoffs finished the Lady Bears turned their attention to the district bracket and their opening round match with Exeter Township on October 25th. Elizabethtown was not able to run away with the match but did post comfortable wins of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-18 to earn a trip to the quarterfinals. Oller (21 assists), Kerin (11 kills) and Horst (28 digs) led the way in the sweep.

TENNIS

The girl's tennis season came to an official close on October 21st when Dasha Gencturk and Kathryn Barraclough took part in the District 3-3A playoffs. The pair found themselves pitted against Reading's Ashley Retana and Halley Guerrero, the top seed in the 3A draw and ended up on the wrong side of a 6-1, 6-0 final, bringing their season to a close.

FOOTBALL

The weather turning a bit colder and the leaves turning colors not only signals that autumn is here, it also means that the high school football season is inching close to completion. Week nine brought Garden Spot to town with second place in Section Three on the line. The Spartans grabbed sole possession of second courtesy of a 66-21 win, dropping the Bears to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.

Despite the final score E-town did have some success but 21-first quarter points for the visitors put Elizabethtown in a hole too deep and they were unable to climb out. The Bears' success came in the second quarter where they scored all three of their touchdowns, the first on a two-yard keeper from Josh Rudy. Cade Capello added a four-yard touchdown run while Brady Breault hauled in Rudy's lone passing score, a 19-yard completion that made it 42-21 at the break. Spot used a 24-0 second half edge to cruise to the 66-21 final.

Rudy finished with 176 yards and that one score through the air while Breault added two more catches to his TD snag for a total of 41 yards. Logan Lentz topped the rushing attack, collecting 64 of E-town's 93 yards with Capello adding 22 yards and that second quarter score. Braden Cummings continued his stellar season with eight catches for 115 yards.

BOYS' SOCCER

A fantastic run through the regular season feels empty if postseason success does not follow. That was the backdrop for the Elizabethtown boys' soccer team as they looked to shake off a surprising quarterfinal exit in the L-L playoffs with a deep run in the District 3-3A bracket.

That district run kicked off on October 24th with the top ranked Bears hosting Susquehannock and posting a 6-2 victory.

"Susquehannock was an exercise in flexibility and putting the team before the individual," said head coach James Sostack.

Sostack was referencing a line-up switch that flipped Hayden Flory from the midfield to attack while bringing Xavier Giron back to the midfield. The change paid dividends early as Juan Lopez found Flory for a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. A few minutes later Flory went solo, giving the Bears a 2-0 cushion at the break.

Elizabethtown continued to press and the result was back-to-back goals from Tavan Schoenberger, one unassisted and one with help from Flory. Susquehannock was able to break up Tyler Bell's shutout bid with goals in the 57th and 63rd minute but E-town countered with goals from Max Gerhart and Kai Laszakovits for the 6-2 final. With the action at the opposite end of the pitch, Bell needed just one save to earn the win.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Over on the Lady Bears side of the pitch, the opening round of the District 3-4A playoffs took place on October 25th and resulted in a 1-0 win over Mechanicsburg. Lily Heistand set up Jena Witters for that lone goal in the 63rd minute. That left Keegan Miller with a clean sheet thanks to her five saves.

FIELD HOCKEY

The field hockey team worked their way through the regular season, earning a spot in the District 3-2A playoffs with an 11-6-1 mark. Their foray into the district bracket lasted all of one game that ended in a 3-2 shootout loss to Manheim Central on October 26th. Sydney Pope finished with 14 saves, but it was not enough as Manheim netted the game winner in the fourth round of the shootout.