Central Bucks West and Neshaminy will do battle in Thursday’s District One AAA title game as both rolled to wins in Tuesday’s semifinal matches. To view photos of both matches, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Central Bucks West and Neshaminy both rolled to sweeps in their respective semifinal matches in District One AAA Tournament play on Tuesday night. The two SOL teams will do battle in Thursday night’s district final at Upper Dublin High School (7:30 p.m.). North Penn and Pennridge will meet in the third place game at 6 p.m. with the final state berth at stake for the winning team.
#1 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, #5 NORTH PENN 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-23)
The Bucks showed their mettle when it mattered most in Tuesday night’s semifinal match. In both the first and third sets, the Knights held late leads. In both, the Bucks simply would not be denied, rallying for wins and the sweep.
“I just think it’s perseverance and just the team believing in ourselves,” senior Christian Rupert said. “We know that we can come back. We know that we can get points at any time. We have a lot of clutch players, and at crunch time, we always come through. It’s great to be around all of these guys.”
No one was more clutch than Rupert, who delivered one big play after another with the game on the line. In the first set, the Knights – who led most of the way – turned a 19-19 tie into a 21-19 lead after a West hit out of play. The Knights still led 22-20 after a West serve out of play and might have led by three, but a North Penn hit was ruled out, a call that displeased the NP faithful who were convinced it was in the court of play. Instead of North Penn on top 23-20, it was a 22-21 game.
The Knights went back on top 23-21, but back-to-back kills by Rupert knotted the score. A North Penn timeout didn’t change the momentum as a Knight hit in the net gave the Bucks a 24-23 lead, and Rupert delivered a kill for set point to close it out.
In the second set, a Kyle Sucro kill knotted the scored 8-8 for the sixth tie of the set. A Rupert kill gave the Bucks a lead they would not lose. The Knights didn’t go down quietly, pulling to within two (17-15) after an Eric Mellman kill. Rupert once again closed it out for the Bucks, delivering a block in the middle on the heels of a kill for the 25-19 win.
The third set was another war. The Bucks led 7-4 after a Matt Hennigan block, but the Knights rallied to go on top 9-8 after a Sucro kill. That lead grew to 14-10, and they still led 18-15 after Gabe Stoler and Mark Elias combined for a block. The Bucks pulled to within one, but the Knights led 21-18 after a West hit out of play. The Bucks knotted the score on a Rupert winner, and after a Knights’ serving miscue, Rupert delivered another kill. The Knights made it a 24-23 game after a Mellman kill, but Rupert closed it out with a block.
“We kind of felt at some points that it was us against the world,” North Penn coach Tim Moyer said. “We were fighting hard to win this match and were not getting any help from the officials for sure, but I was very happily surprised and proud of my guys for staying in it.”
“They didn’t let the bottom fall out. We didn’t pout or cry. We just kept fighting. It was evident in game three – they wanted it, but it wasn’t to be. I could see little plays towards the end that were the difference between a team that’s been to states and been there, done that to one that’s still crawling to get there. They’re a little bit more organized than we are at times. Hats off to West – they had our number this year, that’s for sure.”
The Bucks were led by the 18-kill, four-block effort of Rupert while Joel Klapper added four kills and five digs. Keith Saunders had four kills while Hennigan had 29 assists as well as two kills and three blocks. Ryan Alu had nine digs and Jeff Strasburg, six digs.
For the Knights, Sucro led the way with 12 kills while Stoler added 11 and Mellman, eight. Sucro also had six digs. Elias had 30 assists.
“They wanted the opportunity, and in their own minds after defeating Pennsbury, I think that they were living high at that point,” Miller said. “They felt like they could accomplish more.
“By what they did and the way they came out tonight – they came out with the desire and the thought that they could absolutely win. I don’t think that at times we were 100 percent mentally where we needed to be, but the guys stayed together as a team, controlled their emotions, and ultimately, they followed through and stayed steady enough to do what needed to be done.”
The Knights will face Pennridge in a battle for third place and the final state berth.
“I hope our guys will come in with the same attitude,” Moyer said. “I definitely think they’re going to come in with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. They weren’t real happy with the outcome tonight – happy with the effort but not the outcome. We’ve seen Pennridge before, and we’ve split with them during the season, so it’s going to be a dog fight on Thursday, for sure.”
The Bucks move on to play for a district crown.
“We really try to play our best all the time,” Rupert said. “North Penn played great. We have such a talented group, and we’re all so close to each other. We figured it could be a special season. We’re really happy with the win and are looking forward to a good match with Neshaminy. That should be a great one.
“We haven’t played them yet. We don’t know too much about them, and they don’t know too much about us. It will be who plays better that day.”
“It will be an amazing set,” Miller said. “If we don’t show up, it will be over quick.”
#3 NESHAMINY 3, #2 PENNRIDGE 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22)
The Redskins came into the 2014 season with a singular goal.
“At the beginning of the year, we set our goal to go to states, no matter what,” senior Mike Gulla said.
It’s mission accomplished for the ‘Skins, thanks to their sweep of the second-seeded Rams on Tuesday night.
“This was our goal, and everything else is extra, but since we’re here, we’ll make the most of it,” Gulla said. “Every game we have to go out there and try and win every single time. All 12 of us are seniors, so any game could be our last, and we don’t want that to happen.”
The Redskins seized control of the opening set when Ryan Jamison stepped to the service line for a run that included back-to-back aces. By the time he was through, the Redskins led 10-6.
“Our serving was pretty good tonight,” coach Kevin Roode said. “We didn’t miss a whole lot of serves. We just tried to keep our unforced errors to a minimum, and it paid dividends in the end.”
The Rams pulled to within three (17-14) after a ‘Skins hit out of play. It was still a 22-19 lead when Dan Inemer delivered a resounding block at the net to give the Redskins a four-point lead. A Jamison kill for set point put an exclamation point on the win.
In the second set, Pennridge’s Kolby Smith served for three straight points that included a service ace and a Henry Savage winner. The Rams still led 6-3 after a Devon Rice kill and went on to open up a 12-8 lead before the Redskins rallied to knot the score 14-14 after a Steve Compton kill. The Redskins closed out the game with an impressive 12-3 run. Included in that run was a remarkable pancake dig by J.P. Fay that fell in for a winner.
“We just came out with a lot of energy,” Gulla said. “We had a very good practice yesterday. We watched film today. We had a pasta party last night. We’ve been together the last 48 hours, and we try to go out there as a team and win as a team. We’re in the finals, so it feels really good that all the hard work paid off.”
The Redskins opened the third set with a 5-1 run, but the Rams didn’t go down quietly, battling back to make it a 15-14 game after a Redskin hit out of play. Inemer answered with a block at the net, and that was followed by a Jamison kill. The Rams rallied to knot the score 19-19 only to watch the ‘Skins open up a 24-21 lead after a Jamison winner. The Loyola-bound senior closed it out with a kill off a double block, and a berth in states was assured for the Redskins.
“At the beginning of the season, it was state playoffs or bust for these guys,” Roode said. “I don’t think they would have been satisfied with anything else. I’m really proud of the way they fought tonight and kept their heads in it and just played a really solid game of volleyball.”
Jamison led a balanced attack with 10 kills, four blocks, two aces and six digs. Chase Fullen had 23 assists, three blocks and seven digs. Gulla had five kills, one block and five digs. Compton had five kills, one ace, two blocks and four digs. One of several late arrivals on the team, Compton just began playing volleyball last year.
“To come out as a junior my first year and start is just awesome,” Compton said. “I played club ball the whole fall season, and I just wanted to get better.
“This is our first time in the district championship since ’97. We’re all seniors, and we all hang out after school. We’re just friends overall.”
This year’s roster is comprised of 12 seniors.
“It makes it really special because we started off with four or five guys freshman year from our class, and we started adding people – people wanted to come out,” Gulla said. “We’re all really close friends, so going out there playing together – it’s all our best friends. It’s a rewarding experience, and it’s awesome that we’re out there with all of our friends.”
Savage led the Rams with nine kills and five blocks. Alex Vellner (12 digs) and Steve Braun (10 digs) led the Rams defensively while Smith served for three aces.
While the Rams will face North Penn in a battle for the final state spot, the Redskins will meet Central Bucks West in the title match.
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