Pennridge, Pennsbury and Central Bucks West are featured in this SOL notebook. Pennridge, Pennsbury and Central Bucks East will begin play in the PIAA Class AAA Tournament on Tuesday.
Three SOL teams will be in action when the PIAA Class 3A Tournament begins on Tuesday. Top-seeded Pennridge will face District 3’s fourth place squad, Dallastown, in an opening round match at Quakertown High School, 7:30 p.m. Second-seeded Pennsbury will travel to the High School of the Future where the Falcons will take on District 12 champion Washington at 3 p.m. Third-seeded Central Bucks East will be on the road at Hempfield High School in Landisville where they will face District 3 champion Penn Manor at 6:30 p.m.
Ram tough - Pennridge found itself in a most unusual position six games into the 2017 season.
The defending district champions – 31-1 in league play the two preceding seasons combined – were staring at a 3-3 record in the conference (3-4 overall).
It was, however, a slow start that demands an asterisk since the Rams were without all-state senior Ben Chinnici, who was sidelined with a injury. The made up for lost time when they were healthy, reeling off 10 straight conference wins to close out the season.
“We also were without Corey (Quaste), our setter, for four or five games,” coach Dave Childs said. “We missed Joe (Josiah Friesen) for two games, we missed Kevin (Jones) for two games.
“It wasn’t just Ben, and we survived. Guys stepped up along the way. Now we’re still trying to figure out what we are.”
Who they are may have been answered last Thursday night when the Rams captured their program’s third consecutive District One 3A title with a hard fought 3-2 win over top-seeded Pennsbury.
“One of our goals at the beginning of the season was to do our best and try and take a district title again and now we’re on to the next goal,” Chinnici said. “Now we’re on to states where we have to do our best and kind of forget about this. It’s a whole new chapter.”
Pennridge is the first team to three-peat since Souderton did it in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Falcons come together for successful campaign - Pennsbury’s journey to an SOL National Conference title and a district runner-up finish is a testament to the team’s growth.
“In early September, we got into the gym with some of these young guys, and we were not real good early on in the offseason, so it was nice to see the progress they made,” said coach Justin Fee, whose team won its 11th conference title in 14 years. “But even back then, it was ‘Hey, let’s win our league.’ That was goal number one. Then it was, ‘Let’s win the district.’ Obviously, the goal after that is try and make a run if you make it to states. We made it there, so one game at a time at this point.”
The Falcons did not lose a game on their way to a conference crown. They were led by the dangerous one-two punch of seniors Sean Sweeney (208 kills, 85 digs, 30 aces) and Louie Bavas (220 kills, 106 digs, 14 aces.).
“Everyone knows about Sean Sweeney – he was the leading point getter in the all-league selections, and he’s been the heart and soul of our team for the last three years,” Fee said. “Everyone expected him to be what Sean is.
“Out of nowhere, our other senior outside, Louie Bovas – as a junior, he started maybe our first two or three games, but he picked up volleyball late. He started in 10th grade, didn’t have an offseason because he was a basketball player, so he was very athletic but raw.
“He really showed such great improvement from offseason to the start of our season. He’s just a pleasant, pleasant surprise. We wouldn’t be where we’re at without him. He was the greatest surprise for everybody. The kids, the team, the coaches – everyone can’t believe how good Louie’s picked up on everything in such a short time.”
Sophomore Andy Delworth got a taste of varsity action last year when the Falcons’ senior setter was injured.
“He got a lot of playing experience as a freshman,” Fee said. “He’s steadily gotten better and better and better and more consistent.
“He’s learning how to set a little smarter. I’ve been impressed with him and impressed that we’re seeing steady progress throughout the year. He’s been great.”
Junior middle Danny Quay also has been coming on late in the season.
“He’s played maybe half the sets all year,” Fee said. “Late in our offseason, he twisted his ankle when he was really starting to come along. That ankle set him back a little bit.
“It took a month or so for him to be 100 percent healthy. That was at the start of our season, and bang, he started flowing back into where he was progressing in the offseason. He’s at the point where he’s a legitimate offensive threat and just a blocking machine right now.”
Libero Charlie Bluestein anchors the Falcons’ defense with 164 digs. He also has 21 service aces.
Thursday’s trip to the district final represented the program’s first since 2013 when the Falcons won their fourth of four district title (2006, 2008, 2009 and 2013). Pennsbury went on to finish second in the state in 2013.
Although the Falcons came up short in a bid for their fifth district title, they were not hanging their heads.
“We’re going to keep on moving forward,” Sweeney said. “We know Pennridge is a great team, and I’m sure they’re going to make a great 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.”
Seniors lead Bucks to conference crown - Central Bucks West captured the SOL Continental Conference title but saw its season end in the quarterfinal round of the District One 3A Tournament. The third-seeded Bucks had the misfortune of facing Pennridge in the quarterfinal round of districts where they were edged 3-2 in a five-set war.
“We had a great bunch of seniors this year who have just been great leaders,” coach Todd Miller said.
Senior Ryan Alu will play Division One volleyball next year for Saint Francis.
“The way he works both on the court and off the court, the way he invests in others – when you have a kid like that, I think that’s a good start to a program, it’s a good foundation to build upon,” Miller said. “We also had a quiet leader in Danny Klapper, a kid who just works really hard.
“It’s just been fantastic what they’ve been able to do. Our libero, Cole Kaminski, has been good. He works incredibly hard, and with them as a foundation and what they had seen in past years and what they had seen mirrored when they first came into the program, they have definitely picked up on and continued to build upon. Because of that, it’s made us a phenomenal team.”
The Bucks were 14-2 in league play, edging second place Pennridge and CB East by one game. Five of their conference matches went to five sets – they won four.
“The way that they could stay poised in some of the difficulties and some of the hardships because there were times when we were coming back, down 2-1, and we’re winning in five,” Miller said. “I would definitely say it’s their personality, their hard work and them relying on each other and trusting each other to do so.”
Miller bids farewell to a large senior class that has set an example for the young players to follow.
“Any times that kids succeed and work their hearts and play with everything they have – you’re always glad to see that,” Miller said. “Really, that’s what you want to see. Kids that have a great work ethic and uplift one another and feed into each other.
“When you have teams like that, it’s always a blessing. It’s tough to watch kids like this walk out of the program.”
- Log in to post comments
