West Branch Falls in RVC Semifinals

West Branch sophomore Abbey Fryauf

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West Branch came up one win shy of a third consecutive River Valley tournament title game appearance.

The Bears reached the semifinals with a 21-13, 14-21, 15-13 win over Bellevue but lost to Wilton 25-23, 25-23 in the semifinals of the RVC tournament on Thursday in Wilton.

Senior Abby Knoop had 16 kills in the quarterfinal win over Bellevue while Claire Bridges added 11 kills.

DaLana Kron had a team-high 12 digs against Bellevue while Sophie Nopoulos had 13 assists and Riley Vaughan had 11 assists.

Knoop had 11 kills and Bridges had seven in the semifinal loss to the Beavers.

Abbey Fryauf added four kills in the win while Knoop had a team-high 18 kills and Kron chipped in with 13 kills.


West Branch is now 19-15 on the season and opens regional play on Tuesday at home against Lisbon.

West Branch Advances to RVC Championship Bracket

West Branch junior Sophie Nopoulos sets against Tipton. Photo by Darran Miller.

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West Branch has played in the River Valley Conference tournament title game each of the past two seasons.

The Bears kept their drive for a third straight title game appearance alive on Tuesday.

West Branch went 1-1 at RVC pool play on Tuesday in Camanche to advance to the championship bracket on Thursday at Wilton.

West Branch defeated Regina 22-20, 21-5 and fell to Camanche 13-21, 21-18, 15-11 on Tuesday and advanced to the championship bracket on the tie breaker as Regina defeated Camanche 21-10, 15-21, 15-12.

Senior Abby Knoop led West Branch with 15 kills and 13 digs in the loss to Camanche while Claire Bridges added seven kills.

Abbey Fryauf had five kills and Sophie Nopoulos had four kills and 15 assists while Riley Vaughan added 12 assists and seven digs

DaLana Kron led West Branch with 21 digs.

In the win over Regina, Knoop and Bridges each had seven kills to lead West Branch while Fryauf added three kills.

Nopoulos had nine assists and three ace serves while Kron had nine digs and Vaughan had six assists.

West Branch Downs No. 15 Tipton

West Branch sophomore Abbey Fryauf hits against Tipton on Thursday. Photo by Darren Miller.

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Every team aims to be playing their best heading into the postseason.

West Branch continued to make good on that goal on Thursday holding off Class 2A No. 15 Tipton 25-22, 19-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13 in the River Valley Conference regular season finale for both teams in Tipton.

The win was the 11th in the last 13 matches for West Branch and improved the Bears to 17-8 on the season.

Claire Bridges digs a ball against Tipton. Photo by Darren Miller

West Branch finished 3-3 in RVC play and caused a four-way tie for the south division title with its road win on Thursday.

Regina, Tipton, West Liberty and Wilton all finished 4-2 to tie for the division title.

Abby Knoop had a match-high 28 kills and added 24 digs to lead West Branch on Thursday.

Claire Bridges added 10 kills and 18 digs and Abbey Fryauf had nine kills for the Bears.

Sophie Nopoulos had 26 assists and Riley Vaughan had 21 assists for West Branch while DaLana Kron finished with 22 digs.

Freshman Daniel Sommer led Tipton (21-8) with 19 kills while Blake Ehler added 16 kills.