Council Rock North advanced to Thursday’s District One 4A title game. Hatboro-Horsham remains alive in the hunt for the final state berth. CR North/Downingtown West photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
CLASS 4A Semifinal
#1 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, #4 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 0 (25-19, 29-27, 25-21)
For the second time in as many years, the Indians advanced to the District One 4A title game, tying the program record for making it to the finals two consecutive years.
Ashley Adams – who surpassed the 1,800 career kills mark on Saturday – had a whole lot to do with the Indians’ success, contributing 26 kills, 23 digs, two aces and one block. Her kill for match point put an exclamation point on the big win.
Making Adams so effective was her ability to pick her spots, confusing the Whippets with her repertoire of bone-jarring kills and well-timed and well-placed tips.
“I play beach volleyball, so that’s what helps me with that,” said Adams of her decision-making on the court. “In beach volleyball, you look at the court before you hit every single ball. It’s supposed to be common in indoor, but at our level, it’s not that common. I think I’m just used to having to do that every single point all year round in beach, so I do that every single point indoors.
“I make sure I look at the court. If I see the defender sure, if I see it’s a setter that will dig it, I’ll tip it to get it out of system. I make sure to look as much as I can between every set, and that allows me to know if I should tip it or hit it hard. People don’t realize how deadly a tip or roll can be. You don’t have to hit it super hard every time.”
The Indians were in command in the opening set, but the Whippets played with a whole lot more confidence in the second, opening up a 20-13 lead only to watch the Indians rally from behind. The comeback began with a Bella Slough kill and included a kill from Jordan Ainsley. A backrow kill by Adams pulled the Indians to within four, 22-18, but the Whippets tacked on a point. It was a 23-22 game after back-to-back Adams kills. A bad pass by the Whippets knotted the score.
Three times, the Whippets had match point, and three times they were denied. The first on a tip by Adams, and the second on an Ainsley dink. A Whippet hit out of bounds knotted the score 27-27. Adams delivered a winner, and a Whippet mishit gave the Indians the come-from-behind win.
“Our setter, Kate Logan, is the difference on our team,” Adams said. “She stays positive the whole game. She could make a mistake, and she’s cheering already – ‘All right, we’ve got the next one.’
“Everyone on the team turns to her. She brings us up, especially in the five-setter games. That’s what helps us stay in it. Without that positive aspect, the team can just crumble fast. Our team communicates really well on the court, so I think that’s also what keeps us in it when we’re down.
“We’ve had a few games where we’ve been down 20-12 or 20-15, and we’ve come back and won. All of us have a really strong drive to win, and I think that’s what allows us to go through these long three-set games or extra points because most of our playoff games have gone into extra points.”
Armed with a 2-0 lead, the Indians would not be denied, finishing off the Whippets in the third set with Adams delivering back-to-back kills to close it out.
“We knew we were going to have to mix up the offense,” coach Mike Adams said. “We knew they were a very good defensive team, so we were going to attack from different areas along the net, we were going to mix up the type of shots big time because that keeps them guessing. When they don’t know what’s coming, it’s hard to play defense.”
In addition to Adams’ contributions, Logan handed out 28 assists to go along with four digs and one kill, and Jordan added seven kills, 15 digs, two aces and one block. Sophomore libero Emma McNulty had 12 digs, two aces and one assist. Also contributing were Slough (two kills, one assist, one dig, one block), Sophia Lentz (three digs, one ace, four blocks), Julia Murphy (two digs) and Becca Wintjen (two digs, one ace).
The reality that the season is coming down the home stretch is beginning to hit home for Adams.
“It’s crazy,” the senior captain said. “I think about it all the time, but I also don’t think it’s hit me yet that I’m not coming back next year. I’ve been playing on varsity since freshman year, and I’m just used to always coming back. It honestly went by so fast.
“I still remember my freshman year. I was horrified to start. I didn’t think I should be starting. I was just scared, but it went by so fast. The setter on our team (Kate Logan) – we’ve been playing together for the past two-and-a-half years. She’s been setting for me for so long – after every game, we’re like, ‘It’s almost over, this is crazy,’ but I feel like it helps me want to win even more because I know it could be the last match, so I give it everything I have, don’t let anything drop, don’t take for granted one play. It went by super fast, but I loved every second of it. It was honestly my favorite part of high school.”
Council Rock North will host #3 Bishop Shanahan in the District One 4A title game on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“We have to mix up our attack, and we absolutely have to be patient,” Adams said of the keys to that match. “They’re a big team, they’re always traditionally way bigger than us, which is fine, but as long as we give them shots they don’t always see and keep them guessing, we can be in any match.”
Playback
#7 HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, #6 LOWER MERION 1 (25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 25-16)
The Hatters stayed alive in their quest for the district’s final state berth, defeating the Aces in four sets.
The Hatters’ offense was coordinated by senior setter Grace Howard with 43 assists, a block and two aces. At the net, the Hatters played brilliantly with a .394 hitting percentage that included Nastya Tsetsko with 15 kills, Kayla Jones with 14, Jade Lauzier with 11, and Isabelle Bombas with nine. The Hatters had 10 aces, including Maci Lumpkin with three, Abigail Kosmalski, Ava Santo, Grace Howard, Kayla Jones all with two aces. The defense was led by senior libero Maci Lumpkin with six digs and 35 receptions.
The Hatters will travel to Garnet Valley on Thursday for a 4 PM match to determine the last state qualifying spot.
- Log in to post comments
