Pennridge defeated Pennsbury to capture the program’s third consecutive District One 3A title. Game action photos provided by Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos...CLICK HERE to go directly to the boys' volleyball gallery.
#6 PENNRIDGE 3, #1 PENNSBURY 2 (25-21, 21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-7)
Five points.
That’s all that separated the Falcons from their first district title since 2013. Leading two sets to one, the Falcons found themselves deadlocked 20-20 in the fourth set after a Pennridge serve sailed out of bounds. There was nothing to suggest that would be their last hurrah, but it turned out it was.
Zach Detweiler delivered a kill that sparked a 5-1 Ram run to close out the set, and the fifth set – it was all Pennridge.
“In the fourth set, we got together, and we said, ‘We can’t lose this. This isn’t going to be how we finish the district. Even though we’re going to states, we want to finish strong,’” senior co-captain Ben Chinnici said. “We forgot about the previous three games, came out with a new intensity and a new focus. We fought through that whole fourth set, which gave us momentum for the fifth set.
“Everyone who was on the court and off the court – we were so dead focused on winning, and that’s amazing to see a whole team like that. It’s a beautiful thing when everyone’s eyes are glazed over. Everyone was going to win, no matter what. We were going to do everything we can to win.”
Fellow co-captain Josiah Friesen echoed a similar sentiment.
“Between games, we said, ‘This is it. If we want this title, we have to play now and play hard,’ and that’s what we did,” Friesen said. “We were able to finish the game. I’m super proud of everyone. We had to fight hard for it. We had our ups and downs throughout the season. We said, ‘We just have to get points and win games and we’ll get here,’ and that’s what we did.”
The Rams’ resolve was not lost on their coach.
“After the game four win, they showed something they haven’t shown all year,” Pennridge coach Dave Childs said. “It’s like it clicked for them upstairs.
“This is a special one. From the frustrating start to the season, this means a lot to come back and finish our district play strong. Now we want to continue that in the state tournament.”
The district crown was the third in a row for the Rams, making them the first team since Souderton – Childs’ alma mater – did it in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Making this one especially sweet was the fact that the Rams had their struggles this season, playing a good portion of the regular season without Chinnici.
“Coming out in the beginning of the season with an injury is always tough, but to be able to come back and rally with the team when everyone is healthy again, working almost from the bottom to come back and take a district title and working really hard for it is super satisfying,” Chinnici said.
From the outset, it was clear this was going to be a war. The Rams won the first set 25-21, and the Falcons returned the favor in the second set, winning by an identical 25-21 score.
In the third set, the two teams were deadlocked 3-3 after a Friesen winner, but a Louie Bavas kill was followed by a Sean Sweeney kill, and after Bavas delivered a block of a Chinnici kill attempt, the Rams called a quick timeout.
Chinnici delivered a kill out of the timeout, and the Rams rallied to knot the score 8-8. A back row kill by Sweeney marked the beginning of a 6-2 Falcon run. The Falcons led 22-15 after back-to-back Bavas kills and went on to win 25-19, setting the stage for a marathon fourth set.
A Sweeney dink gave the Falcons an early 4-2 lead, and that’s as much of a lead as either team had until the Falcons went on top 13-10 after a block in the middle of the net. The Rams, however, refused to go away, rallying to knot the score 15-15 after a Chinnici kill that prompted the Falcons to call a timeout. Cross Edwards delivered a service ace out of the timeout, and a Kevin Jones winner gave the Rams a 17-15 lead. Sweeney stopped the bleeding with a back row kill, and a net violation by the Rams allowed the Falcons to knot the score. It was 20-20 game when Detweiler delivered a kill that gave the Rams a lead they would not lose.
“The second and third games it was definitely hard to come back, but at the beginning of the fourth game, we were like, ‘We need to play as a team. We need to lift each other up and help each other out,’” Friesen said. “That’s what we did the fourth game, and I think that’s what got us the win and carried on to the fifth game. That’s how we won. We picked each other up as a team, and we wanted it.”
Chinnici opened the fifth set with a kill, but a Ram hit out of play knotted the score. It was the first and last tie of the set. A Friesen kill sparked a 5-0 Ram run. The Falcons would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
“I don’t know what happened,” Sweeney said. “We just got off to a slow start, and in a short game like that, once you get down, it’s an uphill battle trying to get back.
“They had great servers all around the board. That made everything difficult, but we’re going to keep moving forward. We know they’re a great team, and I’m sure they’re going to make a run in states. We’re going to continue to work hard because we know we’re a great team like them, and we’re going to see if we can make a strong state run.”
Volleyball coaches talk about playing ‘in system,’ and both coaches acknowledged that was key in Thursday’s title match.
“Whichever team was in system dominated at that point and ran off points,” Childs said. “I think that was they key to the whole night.”
The Falcons prepared for what they knew would be a strong serving team in the Rams.
“All we did yesterday in practice was pass and pass and more pass,” coach Justin Fee said. “We talked about where we were going to serve the ball and how we were going to block them.
“The game plan was executed. When the passing falls apart and you can’t get other people involved, it’s tough to win. You have to be able to pass the ball and get in system.
“They know we like to set our middles, and the middles really didn’t get a ton of sets tonight. That allows them to sit on our two best players on the outside (Sweeney and Bavas). They did a good job of blocking Louie. They were the first team that slowed Louie down.”
Chinnici, who was all but unstoppable when it mattered most, led the Rams with 30 kills and 17 digs.
“He’s definitely one of the better players in the state, 100 percent,” Fee said. “Even last year, he was. He’s a top-notch player for sure.”
Edwards added 12 kills, 16 digs and two aces, and Friesen had 10 kills, eight digs and six blocks. Detweiler had four kills and six blocks, and Kevin Jones had three kills and three blocks. Setter Corey Quaste had 56 assists, six digs and three blocks. Danny Rutter led the defense with 22 digs.
“Danny stepped up big time at the end,” Childs said. “He really struggled early, and at the end, he made some really good plays for us.”
Sweeney led the Falcons with 18 kills (.326 hitting percentage), 15 digs and six blocks.
“He came to play,” Fee said. “When you lead in every category, you know you had a great one.”
Bavas added 15 kills and two blocks, and setter Andrew Delworth had 40 assists and eight digs. Libero Charlie Bluestein had 11 digs. Justin Sadley had six kills (.400) and two digs.
“We didn’t get him the ball enough possibly,” Fee said.
Dan Quay added one kill and five blocks.
The Falcons had just five service errors in the five-set match.
“We didn’t have a lot of service errors, which we had against CB East (in the semifinals), so I was happy about that,” Fee said. “We’re taking risks with serving short. That’s what has won us some games and kept us in games, hitting those spots.”
Both teams advance to the PIAA Class 3A Tournament that begins on Tuesday. Pennridge will take on the fourth place team out of District 3 (the loser of Friday’s Penn Manor/Dallastown match) while Pennsbury will take on the District 12 champion.
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, #2 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
The Patriots earned the third and final state tournament berth as a result of their sweep of the host Indians.
“The Patriots had a total team effort tonight, exhibiting strong defense and a balanced attack,” coach Rob Minschwaner said.
Setter Mason Miller handed out 41 assists to go along with three digs, two blocks and one ace. Dylan Colbert (16 kills, five aces, four digs) and Carter Haban (15 kills, four aces, three blocks, six digs) led the Patriots. Liam Creedon’s 18 digs led the defense. He also had an ace. Also contributing were Karl Bandlow (two kills, three blocks), Andrew Bennett (three kills, three digs, two blocks) and Christian Wolf (five kills, four blocks, two digs).
For the Indians, Jack Gunshenan’s eight kills led the way. He also had five digs and three blocks. Setter Nick Baniewicz had 16 assists, 1.5 blocks, one kill and one ace. Harry Wyatt added five kills and three digs. Alex Borman had a team-high eight digs and one ace, and Eddie Mancinelli had six digs and two aces. Sean Helmlinger (three kills, 1.5 blocks, one ace, one assist), Keven D’Arcy (two kills, three blocks, one dig), Will Hewitt (one kill, three blocks, one dig) and Brady Haggerty (one kill, one assist, one dig) also contributed.
Central Bucks East will face District 3 champion Central York in Tuesday’s opening round of the state tournament. Council Rock North closed out its season with a 15-4 record.
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