Check out the results for SOL girls’ volleyball teams in action Monday and Tuesday.
National Conference
WILLIAM TENNENT 3, PENNSBURY 1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20)
The streaking Panthers picked up their 10th win in a row on Tuesday, and this one was special. They not only handed the Falcons their first league loss of the season, they won at Pennsbury for the first time ever.
“It was their Dig Pink Night, and the place was crazy,” Tennent coach Brian Bassler said. “It was totally packed to the top. Their kids are great. They’re loud, and it was just a lot of fun.”
Defense was once again the name of the game for the Panthers, who earned a tip of the hat from Pennsbury coach Michael Falter.
“Tennent played a great match with amazing defense,” the Falcons’ coach said. “They forced us to have 35 hitting errors and nine service errors.
“It was by far one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen by a team all year. They forced us to play uncomfortable.”
And that, according to Bassler, is the Panthers’ game plan.
“We try to serve hard, and we try to play defense,” he said. “Even if we throw it over without a big hit on it, if we keep the ball in play, at least it gives us a chance, and they did it.
“I can’t say enough about our three senior girls – Casey McMahon, CC Weir and Chelsea Gallagher. They’re just unbelievable defensively. We’re going to miss them.”
The trio’s defensive stats speak for themselves – Weir had 29 digs, Gallagher had 18 and McMahon had 11.
“They’re just so solid,” Bassler said. “They communicate with each other. They’ve really learned how to be proactive – read the hitters, read the setters.
“We’ve talked about that a lot – getting a good angle, and they just play so much of the court. I can’t imagine hitting against them some nights because it does frustrate you. You’re used to putting balls on the ground or tipping for an easy kill, and all of a sudden, the ball’s up again. You’re thinking as a hitter, ‘How the heck is that ball coming back at us?’ It’s a huge key, and the longer the match goes – and we’ve played a lot of long matches – the more the hitter wears down, which then allows to serve in a better situation and steal some points.
“We’ve never had a team like this before that is primarily a defensive team. I don’t know that we’ll ever see another group like this one. They are just so good together.”
Jaime Bonner led the Panthers at the net with 14 kills while Gallagher had eight and Amber Wood had six. Sophomore setter Alex Koppany had 32 assists. Bonner led the Panthers’ serving game with seven aces.
“We’ve had such a great season and I’m so happy with them, but we need help to win the league,” Bassler said. “Because of the first time around, we need North to win on Oct. 8 (over Pennsbury), and we need to win out.
“I feel like we couldn’t have done much more. We’re 11-3, we’ve won 10 in a row, and we lost two sets in five in the league. The great part about this is – 10 in a row is awesome, the first time beating Pennsbury at Pennsbury is awesome and the seniors know they beat North and Pennsbury. You can’t take that away from them.”
For the Falcons, Cara Reilly (10 kills), Taylor McCartney (nine kills) and Brandi Steiner (six kills) led the way at the net. Ava Patterson and Dagny Gould both had three service aces. Defensively, Patterson had 12 digs while Gould had nine and Kalsey Ongradi, eight digs.
“We reminded the girls that even though this was a setback tonight, it still doesn’t change the fact that we control our own destiny with only one league loss,” Falter said. “We said, ‘Use this to motivate you to work harder and stay focused.’”
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, HARRY S TRUMAN 0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-15)
Senior outside hitter Kelly Nicholas turned in a solid all-around effort, contributing nine aces, seven digs and six kills. Junior setter Melissa Nicholas also had a big night, contributing five digs, six aces and 14 assists.
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 (25-10, 27-29, 25-12, 21-25, 15-11)
The Patriots rebounded from a loss to Hatboro-Horsham 24 hours earlier to gut out a five-set win over their archrivals. Three players finished the night with double-digit kills – Rachel Clow (13), Lindsay McIntosh (11) and Hannah Lunak (10). Clow also had four aces and a team high 26 digs. Lunak had 19 digs and Erin Lane had 16 digs and four aces. Bridget Terrel had 15 digs and seven solo blocks. Lauren Helveston had eight digs.
PENNRIDGE 3, QUAKERTOWN 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-22)
Steph Judkins led the Lady Rams with 13 kills and five aces. Julia Donnelly and Meghan Keefe combined for 25 assists. Victoria Jones added seven kills.
American Conference
HATBORO-HORSHAM 25-12, 25-23, 25-18
The Hatters’ offense was led by sophomore Cassidy Quattro with 12 kills while juniors Sam Jones and Alexa Kennedy each added seven. Junior Kate Hollenbeck and sophomore Jaimee Stoczko contributed three kills apiece. Juniors Candyce Riley and Jones dominated the defense with 16 digs each, while freshman Allison Laucella and sophomore Rachel DeMarco added nine and eight digs respectively. Jones served four aces, Quattro served three and Riley served 17 points, which included two aces. Seniors Katie McKay and Hannah Steiger dished out 15 and 11 assists.
For the Ghosts, outside hitter Carley Cooper (five kills, three blocks, eight digs), outside hitter Claire Gassman (two kills, one block) and middle hitter Leah Simmons (seven blocks) contributed at the net. Setter Emma Garg had eight assists to go along with two blocks, one kill and five digs. Outside hitter Lizzie Lloyd had six digs, and libero Jamie Kidd had a team high 13 digs.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, CHELTENHAM 0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-17)
Cara Sweeney led the Colonials at the net with 10 kills while teammate Rachel Isaackman had seven and Emily Houck and Jocelyn Porrino both had six. Keelin McEleney had four kills to go along with a team high nine digs. McEleney, Katie Kennedy and Maggie Glaim sparked a strong service game with five aces each. Sweeney added three aces.
For the Lady Panthers, Kelly Graham had five kills, four digs and two aces, and Terrica Do had eight digs.
Monday, Sept. 30
HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 25-21)
It was a team win for the Hatters on Monday. Sophomore Cassidy Quattro led the offense with 13 kills, junior Sam Jones added nine kills, and junior Alexa Kennedy and sophomore Jaimee Stockzo each had six. The blocking was shared by junior Dymond Black, Kennedy and Stoczko with two apiece. The Hatters had 15 team aces; Jones had five of them, and Quattro and Stoczko each had three. Junior Candyce Riley led the defense with 10 digs, and Jones had eight. Seniors Hannah Steiger and Katie McKay dished out 24 and 19 assists respectively.
This past weekend, the Hatters made it to the playoff round at the Ford Tough Challenge (a highly competitive tournament at Haverford High School) by defeating Archbishop Carroll and CR North. In playoffs, the Hatters lost a close match to an Emmaus squad that went on to win the gold medal at the tournament.
For the Patriots, Hannah Lunak (five kills, 15 digs), Rachel Clow (five kills, 13 digs) Bridget Terrel (four kills, six digs, four aces) and Kelly Guillen (four kills) led a balanced attack at the net. Lauren Helveston added 12 digs while Erin Lane had 10 digs and three service aces.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, ABINGTON 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-19)
Jax Babezki (six blocks, 10 kills) and Jackie Haffey (10 blocks, five kills) led the Titans at the net. Larissa Keer, Cait McCrory and Cecilia Miller passed for a combined 30 passing and digging assists, and Lindsey Edling, Madi Conroy and Erin Cleary had 25 setting assists. Taylor Danilowicz and Cecilia Miller had four kills each.
For the Ghosts, Claire Gassman led the way with 10 kills, one ace, six digs. Carley Cooper (five kills, one ace, 10 digs), Lizzie Lloyd (one kill, nine assists, three digs), Jamie Kidd (two aces, 14 digs) and Emma Garg (10 assists, four digs) also made important contributions.
WILLIAM TENNENT 3, BENSALEM 0 (25-7, 25-11, 25-6)
The Panthers served for 19 aces, led by Casey McMahon with six aces to go along with nine assists. Jaime Bonner and Chelsea Gallagher both had eight kills. Amber Wood added six kills.
CHELTENHAM 3, CENTRAL 0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-12)
Madeline Parisi (four kills, three aces) and Kelly Graham (three kills, four aces, nine digs) led the Lady Panthers.
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 3, NORTH PENN 0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-19)
- Log in to post comments
