As far as regular season performances go, the girls volleyball team's 2022 regular season is pretty darn good. The Lady Bears sport a 14-1 mark and that does not include a title run at the Big Spring Invite as well as runner-up finishes at both the Black Knight Invite and Cumberland Valley's Rally in the Valley.

In fact, E-town even avenged their sole loss, which was to Ephrata on September 13th, with a 3-0 sweep on October 6th. Paige Horst had a whopping 31 digs in the 25-19, 25-18 and 25-17.

"The game came down to defense and Paige stepped up and refused to not let anything drop, said head coach Karina Shelly.

Hailey Oller tallied 35 assists and Liz Kerin 13 kills.

The Lady Bears continued to roll on the 10th, posting another 3-0 sweep, this one over Garden Spot. Horst finished with 15 digs while Oller had 33 assists and three aces. Kerin notched 14 kills.

Elizabethtown's next sweep victim was Solanco on the 11th where scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-10 left little doubt. Oller led the way with 20 assists, nine digs and four aces. Chloe Merkt added 12 kills.

FIELD HOCKEY

The Lady Bear field hocky team moved a bit closer to locking up a District 3-2A berth with wins over Cedar Crest and Manheim Central, pushing their overall mark to 11-6.

Of course, an October 7th loss to Red Land did not help the cause. Reagan Flory put E-town up in the first with help from Mikaela Condran, but Red Land would put two on the board in the third for the 2-1 victory. Sydney Pope kept busy, finishing with 15 saves.

Elizabethtown bookended that loss with wins, starting with a 2-1 win over Cedar Crest on the 6th. Pope needed six saves to secure the win thanks to second and third quarter goals. Piper Patrick went solo for that second quarter score while Kendra Griffie used a Lyla Fair feed for the game winner in the third.

The Lady Bears were able to enjoy their 3-1 win over Manheim Central on the 10th, using two first quarter goals to build a comfy cushion. Condran was up first with Caitlin Steffie providing the feed while Fair set up Patrick for an early 2-0 edge. Condran made it 3-0 with Flory's help in the third. Pope picked up the win with four saves but Central was able to break apart the shutout with a fourth quarter score.

GIRLS' SOCCER

The girls' soccer team continues to cruise toward the end of their regular season with wins over Lampeter-Strasburg, Solanco and Garden Spot pushing their overall mark to 13-2. Elizabethtown had little trouble with Lampeter-Strasburg on the 5th, scoring four first-half goals on their way to a 6-1 win. Keegan Miller needed just one save to earn the win thanks to Meiley Shuck and a potent offense. Shuck picked up a goal scoring hat trick while Jena Witters had the assist hat trick. Lily Heistand, Dani Bruno, and Liana Endy covered the remaining goals.

Elizabethtown needed overtime on the 8th but they did manage to slip by Solanco, 4-3. Witters used a Heistand feed for the game winner in overtime while seven Miller saves completed the victory. Witters and Heistand hooked up for E-town third goal only it was Witters feeding Heistand this time. Taryn Hummer put E-town on the board in the fourth minute while Bruno, with help from Josie Spayd, made it 2-1 midway through the opening half.

The Lady Bears took all the worry out of their October 11th encounter with Cedar Crest early, winning 5-0. Witters left her mark on the game by scoring the opening goal and then setting up Hailey Sheetz just moments later for a quick 2-0 lead. One more assist came in the second half, setting up the first of two Kylie Hein scores. Ava Glick set up the second Hein score while also enjoying E-town's third goal. Miller finished with four saves.

BOYS' SOCCERR

The number 12 has little significance most places but for the E-town boys' soccer team that is the winning streak they will carry into the postseason.

"The boys recognize that hard work will be required to have any success in the post season and that the #1 District ranking has placed a target on their backs," said head coach James Sostack.

The Bears finished that impressive regular season run with wins over Lampeter-Strasburg and Garden Spot pushing their record to 13-2-1 and earning the Section Two title in the process. It was a team effort against the Pioneers with Jason Stark, Caleb Garcia, Tavan Schoenberger and Hayden Flory, finding the back of the net. That left Tyler Bell with an easy day in goal and the win.

Things went even easier on the 11th with a 4-0 win over Garden Spot.

"That game showed our commitment as a team to secure the title with a dominating first and second half," Sostack said.

The dominating first half led to a 3-0 cushion thanks to goals by Noah Locke, Dax Kelly and Schoenberger. Kelly added one final score in the 60th minute, giving Flory his third assist of the game. Bell finished with three saves.

FOOTBALL

Undefeated no more. Solanco, courtesy of a 35-32 win on October 7th, knocked E-town from the ranks of the unbeaten, dropping the Bears to 6-1.

As the final would indicate, the game was close with E-town holding a solid 457-373 edge in total yards, but the Golden Mules held the key 2-0 edge in turnovers. The Josh Rudy to Braden Cummings connection would have been the star if not for Solanco's Brody Mellinger. The senior QB accounted for 174 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner late in the fourth, to steal the show. Rudy finished with 293 yards and two scores through the air with another 77 yards and one score coming on the ground. Cummings finished with an eyepopping 12 catches for 190 yards and both of those Rudy scores. Logan Lentz added 82 yards and one score to the Bears rushing totals.

TENNIS

The girls' tennis team played their final matches of 2022 by taking part in the L-L Flight Championship on October 6th, 8th, and 10th. Dasha Gencturk concluded her stellar freshman season with a sixth-place finish in the Flight One Bracket. Gencturk, who earned a first-round bye, slipped a win over Donegal's Kensington Edmond between losses to Haley Miller (Manheim Township) and Hempfield's Sophia Carson. Gencturk also snagged a few postseason honors, with her Section Two and L-L All-Star nods punctuated by a Section Two Player of the Year award.

"Dasha's award is well-deserved," said head coach Brenda McBride. "She hit the ground running and has contributed greatly to the success of our team."

Kathryn Barraclough started her Flight Three draw well with back-to-back wins before a semifinal exit ended her season. Julia Laszakovits in Flight Two and Rebecca Mink in Flight Four, followed the same path, round one victory followed by a quarterfinal loss. Gencturk and Barraclough bowed out of the Flight One draw in the quarterfinals while Laszakovits and Mink survived into the semifinals in the Flight Two draw. E-town's Flight Three entry of Noa Williams and Calla Stoltzfus were unable to advance out of the opening round, suffering a season ending loss.