QUAKERTOWN – They couldn’t wait for this match.
So eager were Hatboro-Horsham’s players to take the court for Saturday’s title game of the Suburban One League Tournament against archrival Upper Merion that they actually began counting down the seconds to the game official.
Forget the fact that they'd been playing volleyball for the better part of eight hours. They were ready for this one.
“We were counting down to when we could go out and warm up,” senior tri-captain Sara Dougherty said. “We couldn’t wait. We have been waiting for this all day, all week.
“I think you couldn’t have a better final than two teams that always battle. It’s always a good, spirited match.”
And in a title match that lived up to its billing as a battle of the best, the Hatters did what they had not been able to do in three previous meetings this season – they upset the Vikings 2-0 (25-21, 25-23) to capture the SOL Tournament title.
As endings go, they don't get much happier than this.
“I know for our team this means so much because Upper Merion has been that challenge that we have been waiting to overcome,” senior tri-captain Megan Himler said. “We have worked hard all season, and we just really pulled together.
“Everyone had such a great attitude and such energy that it was hard to get down if something went wrong, and it really didn’t, so we had nothing to be disappointed about.”
On the other side of the court, Viking coach Tony Funsten was gracious in defeat.
“They played almost perfect volleyball, and we did not,” he said. “Usually, the team that makes less mistakes wins.
“Give them all the credit in the world. They played almost perfectly. When they play like that and the little shorter games – maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference, but you get to the end of the game a little faster, and they beat us there.”
The defending champion Vikings opened up a quick 13-7 lead in game one after an Alex Galdi block, but a Himler kill sparked a 6-0 Hatter run. In that run, Ashley Morgan served for five straight points, which included a pair of aces as well as a block and kill from Simonsen.
“The key was the first game,” Funsten said. “We were up, and we gave it back to them.
“It was all on serve, and we’re usually solid on serve receive, but we gave them six points without them having to play, and then they started playing better. They played almost flawless volleyball.”
The two teams were deadlocked 19-19, but a Kelly Clawson kill put the Vikings on top 20-19. Morgan answered with a kill to even the score. A Lisa Ridgeway kill put the Vikings back on top by one, but Bonnie Harvey delivered a winner to knot things up.
Lauren Schmickle’s serve hit the tape and rolled over the net for an ace, and that was followed by a Viking hit out of play. The Hatters won it on back-to-back Morgan kills – the second just inside the end line.
“Whenever we play a hard team, we all just come to play,” said Dougherty, the Hatters’ libero whose relentless back-row defense was a key to her team’s success. “Physically, we are ready. Our bodies are into it, and we just want to go out and play.”
Despite their big win in game one, the Hatters were anything but overconfident. After all, they had won the first game over the Vikings in pool play earlier in the day only to watch the Vikings come roaring back to win the next two.
In game two, the Vikings led 7-5 after a Ridgeway kill, and they still led 8-7 after a Koenig winner. But a kill by Julie Harvey knotted the score, and then Bonnie Harvey came up with back-to-back big plays – a block and a kill that put the Hatters on top 10-8.
Again, the Vikings responded, and when Liz DiValerio collected a kill, the two teams were deadlocked 11-11. A Bonnie Harvey kill in the middle was followed by another ace off the tape – this one by Morgan that put the Hatters on top 13-11.
“I guess you have to have some luck go your way, but honestly, I think we had a total team effort today,” Dougherty said. “Volleyball is a true team sport, and everyone came together, and we played as one Big Suz.”
And what or who exactly is ‘Big Suz?’
“It just means you’re all playing together – mind, body and soul,” Dougherty said.
It was a simple enough explanation, and on Saturday, it made perfect sense for a Hatter squad that owned the tournament. A Bonnie Harvey ace put the Hatters on top 15-12, but the Vikings rallied to take a 16-15 lead. They still led 17-16 after a Ridgeway kill and upped that lead to 19-16 after a rare Hatter miscue.
But the Hatters refused to go away. The two teams were knotted 20-20 after a Julie Harvey winner, and when the Vikings followed that by uncharacteristically committing back-to-back errors, the Hatters led 22-20.
An Ingram kill made it a one-point game, but when Schmickle’s quick dump over the net caught the Vikings by surprise, the Hatters led 23-21. Two Hatter hitting errors allowed the Vikings to knot the score, but after a Hatter timeout, Himler delivered a kill that hit the tape and rolled over for a winner, and the match came to an end when the Vikings could not return Morgan’s serve.
“It pretty much went without saying what we wanted to accomplish,” Himler said. “We all deep inside knew this was not going to go to three, that we were going to push it out and get it done.”
The only thing that remained was the celebration, and for the Hatters, few wins are sweeter than this one.
“The entire season – this is the one team we set out to beat, and it just made it that much better winning this tournament,” Simonsen said.
Earlier in the day, the Hatters – along with the Vikings – both rolled to identical 7-2 records in their five-team power pool. Both of the Hatters’ losses came at the hands of Upper Merion.
In the quarterfinals, Upper Merion defeated William Tennent 25-16 while the Hatters downed Upper Dublin 25-13. In the semis, the Vikings defeated Council Rock North (25-21, 25-17) while the Hatters upended Pennsbury (22-25, 25-21, 15-9).
“The girls never stopped playing,” Hatter coach Diane Lucas said. “That’s the most important thing. The whole day – it was excellent.
“They were excited, they were consistent, and they were solid throughout the entire day. It’s very exciting for the ending part of our season to beat them. I love playing Upper Merion. They’re a great challenge, they’re a great team. Every time we play against them – win, lose or draw, we’re successful because we’re positive about our play, and we learn something every time we play against them.”
This time the lesson they learned was simple – playing near-flawless volleyball can be golden.
“We all knew we had to win this tournament,” Simonsen said. “It was the biggest deal to all of us.
“We are just trying so hard and practicing so much. We have been working on our attitudes. One of our goals was to keep ourselves up the whole day no matter what happened. We all just pushed through it, and we accomplished our goals today.”
The gold medals were proof of that.
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