Three SOL volleyball teams – Pennridge, Pennsbury & Souderton – advanced to Tuesday night’s district semifinals.
#3 SOUDERTON 3, #6 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-23)
In the final match of the regular season, the Bucks extended the Indians to the limit before falling in five games. At the very least, they were hoping to do the same in Thursday’s quarterfinal match.
The Indians had other ideas, rolling to the sweep.
The difference between the two matches?
“One thing was Mike Fehrs didn’t get as many (service) runs tonight, and that helped a lot,” Souderton senior Gabe Clemmer said. “In the other game, he was running five or six points every time, and he would start the game off 5-0.
“Tonight we actually started off good, and I think he only had one good service run. That was a real big thing. We played great tonight, but I think we could play better.”
The win assured the Indians of a spot in the state tournament.
“It means a lot,” Clemmer said. “It’s so exciting being out there.
“Every time I’m out there – every point counts. If you lose, you’re out.”
Clemmer led the Indians’ service game with three aces to go along with four digs. Andrew Diesel contributed 16 kills to lead the Indians at the net while Chris Kluka and Ryan Davison each had six kills. Davison also had four blocks. Greg Maza led the Indians defensively with 12 digs, and Brett Rawa had nine digs. Tim Jones added three blocks and Matt Wittig had four kills.
“The hardest part about this was we’ve played them four times, and they pretty much know our tendencies, and we know their tendencies,” Souderton coach Brad Garrett said. “It comes down to who’s going to execute a little bit better.
“I think we have a few more weapons in our offense. Ryan (Davison) played a good game, and I thought Matt Wittig and Tim Jones both had timely kills. Their numbers weren’t impressive, but if they’re going to triple block Kluka and stack on Andrew, we have other guys that can pick it up, and we need that because anyone who watches us play knows that Andrew and Chris are a force to be reckoned with.”
Mike Fehrs led the Bucks with 11 kills, five aces and seven digs. Christian Rupert also had 11 kills. Dan Atkins had five digs, and setter Matt Hennigan had 30 assists and five blocks.
“We just made mistakes at the wrong time,” West coach Todd Miller said. “With a decent team and seasoned players, they use it to their advantage.
“It happens. We’re still a young team. The guys didn’t give up. They kept playing through their mistakes, and they just kept working. I think that’s great for as young a team as we are.”
One of the pleasant surprises for West this season was the return to the lineup of senior Ryan Keller.
“He was unhealthy last year and couldn’t play at all,” Miller said. “To have Ryan back was a great thing.
“All in all, it was a great year.”
The Bucks closed out their season with a 13-5 record while the Indians (16-4) advance to Tuesday’s semifinals where they will face Pennsbury.
“I’m excited to play Pennsbury,” Clemmer said. “Our one middle (Ryan Davison) used to go there. As a freshman, he played volleyball there, so it’s always a good matchup for him.”
#2 PENNSBURY 3, #10 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 (22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 15-7)
The second-seeded Falcons rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn the win, and despite coming up short, the 10th-seeded Patriots made believers out of Justin Fee.
“It was very, very close,” the Falcons’ coach said. “They’re underrated. They’re a very, very good defensive team and have very good ball control.
“They had three very good offensive weapons, and (the others) were decent players. They played unreal defense, and they served really well. In the games they beat us, we hit really poor, and it was partially because they were digging us left and right and keeping the ball alive until we hit it out.”
Fee was most pleased to see his team rebound from a 2-1 deficit to earn the win.
“I love how our guys fought through adversity,” the Falcons’ coach said. “I was screaming and yelling at a couple of them, calling them out, and they responded really well to the situation and the stress that they were under, which is important.
“It’s good to be able to win those five-game matches.”
Pat Merrick (17 kills, two aces, two blocks), Sean Kropp (15 kills, one ace, one block) and Chris Spano (11 kills, two aces) led the Falcons at the net. All three had double-digit digs with Merrick contributing 16, Kropp, 15, and Spano, 14. Troy Pereira had 15 digs.
“We played very good defense,” Fee said. “I had (four) players that had double-digit digs. I know it was a five-set match, but we had 80 digs as a team, and they were legitimate, not free ball passes. It was probably an interesting match for the fans with all the crazy digs that were going on.
“I don’t ever remember having 80 digs in a match.”
Also making important contributions for the Falcons were Neil Helsel (four kills, .375 hitting percentage, one dig, five blocks), Dalton Zimmerman (eight kills, .583 hitting percentage, two aces, five digs, one block) and setter Jeff Yasalonis (51 assists, one ace, one block).
“Dalton came up big at crucial moments both serving late in games as well as hitting eight kills with only one error,” Fee said.
The Patriots, who had 55 digs as a team, had some noteworthy performances of their own. Kyle Dolf (22 kills, 17 assists), Nick Bennett (13 kills, eight digs) and Anthony Cupo (12 kills, five aces, 14 digs) all came up big at the net. Cupo’s performance was particularly noteworthy since it was just his second match action after being sidelined with an injury.
“He makes a difference,” coach Rob Minschwamer said. “I wish we’d had him all year. He’s incredible, and the kid had three days of practice all year.
“It’s a shame that that happened.”
Trevor Clemens had 12 digs while Mike Donovan added eight. Colby Tallia had six digs.
“We’re very good at defense,” Minschwamer said. “That’s what really carried us all year.
“We battled. Both the games we lost we had leads, but Pennsbury is phenomenal. They’re solid all the way around the court. Every one of them can hit, every one of them can pass. They’re a great team.
“I just kept sitting there thinking, ‘All we have to do is win this game, and the season goes on a couple more weeks.’ It was a shame, but give those guys credit. They were really, really good. I told our kids they have nothing to feel bad about. They should be proud and keep their heads high. It was one of the best matches I’ve ever watched.”
The Patriots, who closed out their season with an 11-8 record, return five players next season. The Falcons (15-1) will face Souderton in Tuesday’s semifinals.
#1 PENNRIDGE 3, #9 WILLIAM TENNENT 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22)
Kalin Nelson had a big night at the net, contributing 18 kills to go along with six digs to lead the Rams. Erik Moyer had 11 kills and four blocks. Ryan Chinnici (six kills) and Derek Rush (five kills) also contributed. Austin McVaugh had 29 assists, and Christian Lizana had 14 digs.
“We didn’t pass well, but Austin set really well,” coach Dave Childs said. “Kalin had 18 kills on 26 swings with no hitting errors. He was phenomenal.
“Erik had 11 kills. We hit well – we only had six hitting errors as a team.”
Childs tipped his hat to the Panthers.
“They have two good outside hitters that can really hit the ball,” he said. “They’re just an all-around solid group. They have a good setter, and their libero is a good player. They’re a heck of a nine seed, that’s for sure.”
The Panthers closed out their season with a 9-6 record while the Rams improved to 18-0. They will face Christopher Dock in Tuesday’s semifinal.
#5 CHRISTOPHER DOCK 3, #4 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 2 (21-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-20, 15-13)
The defending district champions saw their season end at the hands of the Pioneers.
“It just wasn’t our night,” coach Susan Kim said. “Christopher Dock actually played really good defense. They picked up a lot of balls.”
Dan Ford led the Indians with 27 assists and 11 kills. Dan Rafalovitch had 18 assists. Chris Richard had a team-high 12 kills. Jeremy Higgins and Christian Kiselica both had nine kills. Higgins also had five blocks. Eric Stettner led the defense with 40 digs.
The Indians closed out their season with an 11-3 record.
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