SOL Boys' Volleyball Wrap (5-7-18)

Council Rock North edged Pennsbury in a grueling five-set match to capture the SOL National Conference crown. Check Monday’s recaps. Photos of Neshaminy/William Tennent provided by Jon Sklut; Pennridge/Upper Dublin courtesy of Keith Clemens' Photography. CLICK HERE to view action photos in the SOS galleries.

COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, PENNSBURY 2 (19-25, 25-14, 23-25, 25-15, 15-7)
In a championship match that gave the fans their money’s worth and then some, it was the Indians rallying from a 2-1 deficit to win the last two sets and capture sole possession of the SOL National Conference title.
“The environment at Pennsbury was incredible,” Rock North coach Greg Marchetti said. “Pennsbury is the most difficult place to play in District One.  Their fans take a lot of pride in their athletic programs and they were very loud throughout the match tonight especially in game one.  We are very fortunate that our CR North fanbase travels well and they were able to neutralize the home court crowd throughout the match.”
Trailing 2-1, the Indians never lost their composure.
“As we approached game four, our goal was to stay positive and control what we could control,” Marchetti said. “Try to limit scoring runs and not get too high or too low within the emotional swing of a volleyball match.  The key for our team was to play one point at a time and to make smart decisions.  I think our mental focus improved throughout the match, especially in games four and five.
“It is very rewarding as a coach to see players accomplish their goals and one of our goals this year was to win the SOL National Title.  It is our program's first outright Championship since 2011, we shared with Pennsbury in 2016.  Both teams gave a championship effort tonight.  We were fortunate to come out on top and will use this accomplishment to continue to motivate our players and get ready for our next match on Wednesday.”
Setter Nick Baniewicz had 38 assists, one dig, one assist and .5 blocks. His favorite targets were Harry Wyatt (17 kills, seven digs, four blocks, one ace), Justin Burns (12 kills, three digs, one block, one ace), Jack Gunshenan (eight kills, six digs, one block, one ace) and Will Hewitt (five kills, 2.5 blocks). Eddie Mancinelli led the defense with 22 digs, four assists and one ace. Keven D’Arcy added three blocks, one kill, one assist and one dig, and Justin Walton had one ace.
“Our entire team played a part in the victory,” Marchetti said. “There are many guys that did not get playing time tonight, who played a critical role in preparing our team to compete at the highest level.  Our practices have been competitive all week and our program won tonight because of the guys on our bench and the guys on the court.”
For the Falcons, Kyle Faulcon led a balanced attack with 10 kills, one assist, 11 digs and one block. Danny Quay (nine kills, one ace, eight digs, one block), Justin Sadley (nine kills, one ace, eight digs, one block) and Brett Garretson (eight kills, four assists, six digs, one block) also contributed at the net. Luke Bucksar had five kills and a .444 hitting percentage to go along with one dig and two blocks, and setter Andy Delworth had three kills (.429) to go along with 35 assists, one ace and 15 digs. Charlie Bluestein had 10 digs and one assist. Matt Caissie had one dig.

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, BENSALEM 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-20)
The visiting Golden Hawks eked out a win in the first set on their way to the sweep of the Owls.
Shane Slivinski’s 10 kills led a balanced South attack. He also had three aces, four blocks and 16 digs. Andrew Richards added seven kills, one ace, one block and 17 digs, and Dylan Baptiste had five kills, two blocks and two digs. Jay Ferrara contributed four kills, two aces, two blocks and seven digs. TJ Rodman added 10 digs and one ace. Also contributing were Dane Paulson (one kill, three blocks, six digs), Jake Leonard (one kill, two blocks) and Joey Barrett (five digs, one ace).
For the Owls, Jay Tilvawala had seven kills while Greg Philip added five kills and two blocks. Setter Basheer Ghafary had 20 assists and three kills.

CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, NORTH PENN 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18)
Cole Nagle (nine kills, five aces, six digs) and Eli Gibson (eight kills, two aces, seven digs) led a balanced West attack in Monday’s sweep of the Knights. Liam Baxter added five kills and three digs, and Austin Cervasio had four kills. Setter Adam Klapper had 29 assists.
For the Knights, setter Drew Coles had 22 assists to go along with one ace, one kill and nine digs). Contributing to the attack were Michael Wang (eight kills, 11 digs, two aces, one block), Evan Rothmann (five kills, six digs), Zach Jayes (four kills, two blocks, two digs), Isaac Lambert (two kills, two digs), Kevin Abraham (two kills) and Alex Stoler (two kills, two digs). Deval Patel had 10 digs.

PENNRIDGE 3, UPPER DUBLIN 1 (25-27, 25-15, 25-13, 25-17)
The Rams dropped their first set to the visiting Flying Cardinals but won the next three.
Contributing to the Rams’ attack were Cross Edwards (14 kills, six digs, four aces), Zach Detweiler (seven kills, two blocks, three aces), Kevin Jones (seven kills, two blocks), Ryan Benscoter (six kills, five blocks), Chris McKinney (four kills, two blocks) and Mike Molettiere (two kills). Setter Corey Quaste had 37 assists to go along with 12 digs and four blocks. Also contributing defensively were Danny Rutter (10 digs), Ethan Lionetti (six digs), Jeremy Pruss (four digs) and Phil Warnke (four digs).

NESHAMINY 3, WILLIAM TENNENT 0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-15)
Tony Camillo had 10 kills to lead a balanced Redskin attack. He also had three blocks. Jesse Marshall added six kills, one ace and two blocks, and Ben McGonagle had five kills, two blocks and one ace. Steve Wenderlich led a strong service game with seven aces to go along with five digs and two kills. Setter JD Palmieri had 30 assists and four digs. Also contributing were Alex Swiderski (three kills, seven digs), Bert Shen (three kills, four digs, two blocks, two aces) and Matt Schwab (two kills, seven digs).

CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, SOUDERTON 1
The visiting Patriots maintained their top spot in the SOL Continental Conference with a win over the Indians that ensured them at least a share of the conference crown.
“It was a good match with CB East,” Souderton coach Dave Stastny said. “We matched their effort but came up short. CB East proved why they are in first place in the conference.”
Ben Campman’s 23 kills led the Indians. Brett Cornman added eight kills. Setter Luke Pagan had 36 assists. Matt O’Neil had 10 blocks and was a force at the net.

QUAKERTOWN 3, CHELTENHAM 0 (25-7, 25-8, 25-13)
Logan Spieker had 17 kills and three aces to lead the host Panthers in their sweep. Josh Moyer added 10 kills, one block and two aces, and Cameron Cronk had six kills and one block. Justin Flor had three kills and one ace, and setter Zach Frei had 31 assists and five aces.

ABINGTON 3, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 2 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13).

Abington won a tough game on the road against Lansdale Catholic. Abington's offense was led by Danny Gonzalez with 16 kills, one block, eight digs and three aces; Shane Collins eight kills, two digs and one block; Jason Lockhart four kills and five blocks; Juan Perez three kills, six blocks, two digs and two aces; Josh Harkins two kills and one dig and Peter Dougherty with one kill. TJ Dougherty had 31 assists, three digs and an ace. Dean Dougherty had 15 digs, one assist and one ace; Charlie Viola had six digs and Jacob Brandt had four digs.

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