Central Bucks West advanced to Tuesday’s PIAA Class AAA semifinal while Neshaminy saw its season come to an end. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
FRANCONIA TWP – ‘Wow.’
In many ways, that word said it all for coach Todd Miller after Central Bucks West’s 3-0 sweep of District 11 champion Parkland (25-22, 25-23, 27-25) on Saturday at Souderton Area High School in front of a partisan and vocal West crowd.
The Trojans threw some serious defense at the Bucks, but they combatted every Trojan block and every Trojan dig with a balanced effort that made them impossible to contain.
“To see them continue to learn and grow and just want new challenges as a team makes them just – wow, they’re a great bunch of guys,” coach Todd Miller said. “The bond they have – when somebody falters a little bit, the next guy goes, ‘Guess what – it’s my turn to step up and help you out. How can we carry on together?’
“Just to see them step up and carry on together – wow, that’s what makes them incredibly strong. In all honesty, to see the way they play together and the bond that they have – for me, it’s all I can ask for as a coach.”
The Bucks (24-0) were led by the 14-kill, seven-block effort of Christian Rupert, but the Brigham Young-bound star had plenty of help. Jackson Cox had seven kills and three blocks, and Keith Saunders had six kills. Setter Matt Hennigan had six kills to go along with 36 assists, five aces and nine digs. Joel Klapper had nine kills, seven digs and two blocks while Ryan Alu and Jeff Strasburg both had seven digs.
“That’s what’s good about them right now,” Miller said. “That’s the way they’re growing as a team. They’re becoming more balanced. They’re not allowing Christian or Matt or anyone to carry that burden by themselves.”
With teams keying on Rupert, things have opened up for the other players, who are delivering in a big way.
“He draws the blocks for us,” Cox said. “It gives us one-on-one’s, and it just helps us a lot when he’s putting everything away. He’s just such a weapon.”
The Trojans hung tough in Saturday’s match, but the Bucks would not be denied, refusing to drop even one game. That resolve was evident in the third set. The teams were deadlocked at 21-21 and 22-22, and the Trojans had set point after going on top 23-22, but a Cox kill out of a West timeout knotted the score.
“You just have to keep a level head,” Cox said. “You just have to know you’re at the end and you can’t let any more points drop, but you still have to do know that you have to do your job. You can’t lose your composure and get all frustrated.”
The Trojans led 25-24, but a Rupert kill fended off another match point, and after a service ace by Strasburg, Rupert delivered a block in the middle for match point.
“The whole year teams have been playing their best games against us, and we’ve known that so we have to step up and adjust,” Strasburg said. “I think it showed tonight.
“Whenever it’s on the line, 23-23 or we’re down towards the end, we almost always persevere.”
The Bucks, according to Cox, followed the lead of the Trojans when it came to playing defense.
“Their scrappy defense helped us play a little bit scrappier ourselves, getting more blocks up,” Cox said. “When we got blocked, we were able to get it back up and continue our offense.
“We have so many weapons that it’s kind of hard to put one block up on one person. Even when we were down a little bit, we were able to fight back and never were too worried that we were out of it. We kept our calm and kept going.”
While the Bucks’ offense has stolen the headlines during a magical season, their defense has been a staple of this year’s league and district championship squad.
“I think it’s crucial to our success – depending on our blocking and our defense,” Strasburg said. “It starts with the blocking. We feed off that, we set up off of that. If those two things are clicking, we’re tough to beat.
“It’s definitely exciting, and knowing we’re going to play the second or third best team in the state is also exciting. If it’s Central York, we’ve been wanting to play them for a while.”
The Bucks will face a Central York squad that is ranked number one in the latest PA Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The two teams will do battle on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in a state semifinal game at Wilson High School, West Lawn, PA. (This is a changed location).
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#3-1 CENTRAL YORK 3, #1-2 NESHAMINY 0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-15)
The ‘Skins hung tough, but in the end, Central York prevailed, bringing to an end a remarkable season for the SOL National Conference co-champions.
Senior Chase Fullen had 28 assists and two blocks. Loyola-bound senior Ryan Jamison had 12 kills, four blocks and six digs. Dan Inemer and Jake Murray both had five kills while JP Fay had six digs.
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