Stephanie Taibe had eight kills and Brianna Harris had six kills to lead Mary Louis to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-13 win against host Bishop Kearney in the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I girls volleyball quarterfinals Tuesday.
The victory puts the Hilltoppers (5-6) in the semifinals, where they will meet St. Francis Prep, ranked No. 1 in the city by The Post, on Thursday night at Bishop Loughlin.
“We’re going into the game on Thursday with strategy,” Taibe said. “We’re ready to play Prep and I know my whole team wants to win and will play their best.”
Mary Louis has made some changes as the season has gone and is playing better volleyball. Senior Gabby Mostarac, who was out due to illness early, has moved into a 6-2 with fellow setter Ashley Tuffy. The addition of the 5-foot-10 Mostarac to the front line makes the Hilltoppers one of the biggest teams in the division. She had seven assists, three kills and two blocks against Kearney (2-9).
“She has good height and she has good hands,” Mary Louis coach Sylwia Schober said.
The key Thursday, Schober said, is passing. The Hilltoppers have size and hitters who can put the ball down like Taibe, who has moved from middle to outside, and Harris. It’s just a matter of putting them in position to succeed.
“If we can pass the ball and our setter can use, then we can do some damage,” Schober said.
Gianna Lugo had four kills and Tuffy had 10 assists for Mary Louis. Emily Dripchak and Jillian O’Hara each had four kills, Shannon Biscaino had three kills and Victoria Romano had 12 assists for Kearney, which has been playing without star senior outside hitter Cody Dripchak for the last month due to a broken left wrist.
PSAL CLASS A
No. 2 Francis Lewis 2, RFK 0: Stephanie Rich had six kills and Jessica Chung and Sandra Arcabascio each had six assists for Lewis (8-0) in a 25-5, 25-22 win in Queens A6. Ragina Anthony had six digs and Anibela Kolenovic had two blocks. RFK is 0-8.
No. 3 Cardozo 2, Bayside 0: Ashley Grubler had seven kills Jessica Lou had 12 assists and Helen Kim had five aces to lead Cardozo (7-1) to a 25-7, 25-9 win in Queens A6. Bayside is 3-5.
No. 6 Susan Wagner 2, Port Richmond 0: Emily Burke had five kills, Esther Jang had 12 assists and Kristine Ciurcina had four aces to lead Wagner (9-0) to a 25-5, 25-9 win in Staten Island A9. Port Richmond is 0-10.
Bronx Science 2, Columbus 0: Mary Platt had five kills and Annie Lee had six assists to lead Science (9-0) to a 25-17, 25-13 win in Bronx A1. Columbus is 5-5.
Tottenville 2, New Dorp 0: Sara Hwang had nine kills and six digs and Sin Hae Lee and Veronica Bulger each had five kills for Tottenville (7-2) in a 25-21, 25-17 win in Staten Island A9. Song Hee Han had 15 assists, Sarah Shin had 16 digs and Patricia Kane added 10 digs. Kaitlin O’Brien had nine kills and 11 digs, Carolyn Kweon had 15 assists and five kills and Taylor Williams had nine digs for New Dorp (6-4).
Cleveland 2, Long Island City 0: Carolina Alfonso Reyes had 14 kills, five digs and five aces to lead Cleveland (5-4) to a 25-23, 25-23 win in Queens A7. Almeda Spahija had 23 assists and Eleana Crespo added five aces. LIC is 5-4.
Van Buren 2, Edison 1: Jenny Verdugo and Otilia Guevara each had six digs to lead Van Buren (7-3) to a 16-25, 25-17, 25-16 win in Queens A8. Edison is 2-8.
Bryant 2, Hillcrest 0: Jasmina Hamza had six kills and nine aces and Amanda Arroyo and Kathleen Dos Santos had five assists each for Bryant (7-2) in a 25-14, 25-17 win in Queens A8. Dos Santos had five aces. Hillcrest is 2-8.
PSAL CLASS B
Scholars Academy 2, Bowne 0: Paris Hanson had four kills, Rebecca Moers had five assists and Nicole Cunningham and Miranda Harding each had five aces for Scholars (9-1) in a 25-8, 25-6 win in Queens B9. Bowne is 2-8.
OTHER SCORES
Sheepshead Bay 2, Lincoln 0