POTTSVLLE - It started with an air of excitement.

Panther Valley’s quest for a second Schuylkill Girls’ Volleyball League championship in the last four years was just two wins away from that destiny. This edition of the Panthers had the ability. It could dig, dive and drive with the best.

But the Panthers couldn’t do it with their best player, their leader, and their superb point producer hobbling.

Erika Dubosky’s pain was felt by all draped in black and gold. When the 6-0 senior hit the floor early in the opening set of her team’s semifinal round playoff against Pottsville at Martz Hall, the Panthers’ hopes suffered a deep hit.

Although Dubosky valiantly returned to the court later in the match, she never could quite recover from what looked to be an ankle sprain. Pottsville’s strong contingent sensed the opportunity, took matters into its own hands, and swept to a straight set victory, 25-13, 25-14 and 25-17 in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Wednesday night.

The victory sends the Crimson Tide into tonight’s 7 p.m. final against defending champion Blue Mountain, who ousted Pine Grove in three sets in the opening match of the semifinal twin bill.

“It really hurts,” Emile Baker the second-year Panther Valley coach said, fully aware Dubosky’s loss was huge. “I told our kids when Erika got hurt we needed to step up.”

However, that’s easier said than done when losing a player of Dubosky’s stature and facing an opponent as formidable as the Crimson Tide.

Pottsville got on a hot streak, reeling off seven straight points to zoom to a 9-6 lead in the opening set.

At that point, Dubosky went down. With the Panthers’ All-Stater on the bench. the Tide took control.

“We teach our team to be aggressive,” Marie Sherakas, Pottsville’s coach, said when asked if the Dubosky departure forged a killer instinct from her team.

Behind middle hitter Payton Kleckner and outside hitter Jules Plachko, Pottsville immediately took control and outscored Panther Valley 16-7 the rest of the way to close out the opening game victory.

“We hustle together, we go strong to the net and they’re going to swing,” Sherakas said. “We just wanted to play our game and serve aggressively.”

Panther Valley stumbled in the middle of the second set with seven crucial errors. Even though Dubosky had returned to the floor, it was obvious she just couldn’t push off with her leg, as Pottsville rolled to a 25-14 victory.

But, PV didn’t mail it in. Instead, it dug deep and tried to pull off a comeback that would have been bigger than Lake Hauto.

Panther Valley seized an 8-5 lead, and was still in the hunt trailing 15-14 at one point, but the Tide slowly spread the lead before finishing the sweep, 25-17.

“We went into the match expecting big things from Erika and when she got hurt, it definitely impacted what we wanted to do.” Baker explained. “Even though she came back, she wasn’t 100 percent. We can only hope that she can get better for districts.”

REGULAR SEASON ... One of the best ways to judge the impact of Dubosky’s injury is to look at the regular season meeting between the teams. In that match, the Tide pulled out the victory in a tight, five-set thriller.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS

… PV senior Alexis Cooper had a big night with 15 digs. Madison Heckman had eight assists and Dubosky finished with seven kills. The Tide had Kleckner registering 13 kills, Plachko adding 11 kills and 17 digs, and Bella Varano contributing eight digs and 34 assists.

KUDOS AND PLAUDITS

… Cooper was excellent at Libero for PV, while Heckman, Abbey Vermilion and frosh Riley McArdle weren’t backing down and tightened up the shoe strings when the going got tough.