BUCKS REPEAT AS CHAMPIONS OF DOCK TOURNAMENT
The Bucks rolled through the Christopher Dock Volleyball Tournament without a loss, defending a title they owned with a 2-0 win over Council Rock North (25-14, 25-15).
“A lot of teams are at a different playing level, and for us, it really mixes up our game and let’s us see a lot of that diversity,” West senior Matt Hennigan said. “It rounds our game off.
“We try to work in as many different mixes of players as we can just to mix it up for everyone.”
“We just try, no matter who we’re playing, to play at an even keel,” senior Christian Rupert added. “That’s what we have really been working on – consistency – because we have a tendency to be a little inconsistent at times.
“In this tournament, there are teams in all different stages of each of their individual programs, and it’s great to just develop consistency in every different aspect.”
Rupert earned tournament MVP honors while Hennigan was named to the all-tournament team.
It was Rupert setting the tone for Saturday’s title match against Rock North, delivering a kill and then back-to-back blocks to put the Bucks on top 3-0 in the opening set. They led 7-0 before Hennigan – who served for six straight points – hit a serve out of bounds to put the Indians on the board.
The Bucks led 10-3 after back-to-back kills by Joel Klapper and Rupert and still led 18-9 on their way to the 25-14 win with Fran Poeske delivering a kill for set point.
The Indians hung tough in the second set, knotting the score on three separate occasions, the final time 7-7. The Bucks took a lead they would not lose (8-7) on a Rupert kill, and they went on to win it 25-15 with Klapper slamming down a kill for match point.
“After sitting for an hour and 45 minutes after our semifinal, to come out and play a team that has just played and was already back in a rhythm – I think they overcame that well,” West coach Todd Miller said. “They’re a great bunch of kids.”
The Bucks were a perfect 8-0 in pool play, earning wins over Quakertown (25-15, 25-12), Unionville (25-14, 25-13), Freedom (25-20, 25-14) and Lancaster Mennonite (25-15, 25-17). The Bucks had a bye in the quarterfinals but then faced Whitehall in a spirited quarterfinal match.
“That Whitehall team was pretty good,” Rupert said. “That was a fun match. It’s always fun to play a competitive match.
“The last two matches, in particular, they gave us a good run, and it’s always a lot of fun to play those teams.”
Saturday’s tournament was just a small step in the Bucks’ journey this season.
“We have been working towards this season for a long time now,” Hennigan said. “We have been recruiting players, building our program up, working everyone into practice to get everyone going. It’s really rewarding.”
For Rock North, senior Andy Van Thuyne and junior Josh Hinton were named to the all-tournament squad.
“We started off very strong,” coach Greg Marchetti said. “I was really happy that we stayed consistent throughout the day.
“I think in the championships match we hit a little bit of a lull. This is the fifth year in a row we’ve made the championship game. That’s consistency. You see a lot of teams come through and have one, two, three years, and we had a lot of underclassmen on the court throughout the day, and I was really pleased with their overall effort.”
Marchetti – whose team was 8-0 in pool play – was especially pleased with his team’s hard-fought win over Souderton in the semifinals that saw the Indians win in three, eking out a 23-21 win in game three.
“That match was such an emotional roller coaster match, and it was really hard to pick up the energy after that third game that was 23-21,” Marchetti said. “After that win, that took a lot out of our team mentally and physically, and CB West is just a very powerful team. They’re a good team, and we made some unforced errors. We didn’t play our best game, but considering the situation, I was pleased with the effort.”
In pool play, Rock North defeated Whitehall (25-21, 25-16), Central Bucks East (25-12, 25-21), Central Bucks South (25-20, 25-16) and Christopher Dock (25-17, 25-19). Rock North defeated Quakertown in a one-game quarterfinal (25-16) to earn a date with Souderton in the semis.
Tournament stats for the Indians saw Thuyne (75 digs, five aces, four assists, one kill) and Hinton (34 kills, 48 digs, four blocks, one ace) leading the way. Nick Reich (22 kills, 10 blocks, five digs, one assist), Will Stollsteimer (17 kills, 24 digs, four aces, two blocks), Austin Fuglestad (17 kills, nine digs, four blocks) and Will Desautelle (16 kills, five blocks) also made important contributions. Setters Dalton Abrahamsen (54 assists, 19 digs, two aces) and Logan Fuglestad (46 assists, 26 digs, one ace) both had busy days. Also contributing were Matt Pine (nine kills, seven digs, one block), Ricky DePaola (12 digs) Jason Yakimiv (four kills, five blocks), Aidan LeClair (three kills, two blocks), Eric Van Thuyne (three digs) and Tommy Angelina (two kills).
Souderton also made it through pool play without a loss, defeating Council Rock South (25-19, 25-18), Haverford (25-16, 257-25), Liberty (25-15, 25-16) and Northampton (25-16, 25-13). The Indians earned a bye in the quarterfinals and then lost junior Evan Miller to an injury early in their semifinal match against Rock North. They still extended North to the limit before falling in three. With Miller sidelined, sophomore Jack Pagan was pressed into emergency duty.
“He was the most experienced guy on the bench, and we threw him into Evan’s spot,” coach Brad Garrett said. “In pool play, we played the best we have played all season. We were just catching stride (when Miller got hurt). It was frustrating.
Miller earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
Quakertown also put on a good showing at Saturday’s tournament. The Panthers were 6-2 in pool play, defeating Unionville 2-0 (25-10, 28-26), Freedom (25-22, 25-15) and Lancaster Mennonite (25-13, 25-23) but falling to CR North in a one-game quarterfinal.
Central Bucks South was 2-6 in pool play, splitting with CB East (23-25, 28-26) and Dock (16-25, 25-17) and dropping a pair to Council Rock North (20-25, 16-25) and Whitehall (22-25, 23-25).
Central Bucks East was 3-5 in pool play, defeating Dock (25-22, 25-22) and splitting with CB South (25-23, 26-28) but falling to CR North (25-12, 25-21) and Whitehall (25-18, 25-10).
Council Rock South was 1-7 in pool play, splitting with Liberty (25-18, 23-25) and falling to Haverford (19-25, 21-25), Souderton (19-25, 18-25) and Northampton (15-25, 15-25).
Pennridge @ The State College Invitational
Pool Play
25-18, 25-14 vs. Bethlehem Catholic
25-23, 27-26 vs. Wilson
27-25, 25-21 vs. Central York (#1 AAA)
Reseed Pool
26-27, 18-25 vs. Ambridge (#1 AA)
21-25, 21-25 vs. Northeastern (#2 AA)
19-25, 21-25 vs. Hempfield (#3 AAA)
Playoffs
20-25 vs. Central York (#1 AAA)
Pennridge Statistics
Alex Vellner - 27 kills, 17 digs, 5 aces
Kolby Smith - 25 kills, 22 digs, 6 aces
Devon Rice - 30 kills, 18 digs, 8 aces, 6 blocks
Ben Chinnici - 20 kills, 20 digs, 10 blocks
Henry Savage - 16 kills, 6 blocks
Brad Nase - 112 assists
Steve Braun - 35 assists, 5 aces
* Pennridge finished tied for 5th overall
Friday, April 25, 2014
QUAKERTOWN 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
For the Patriots, Henry Mallison led the way with seven kills and four digs while Chris Woolslayer added four kills, two aces and one dig. Jarred Minchwaner led the defense with 10 digs to go along with two kills while Brian Damone had eight digs. Pierce Budson had four kills and one block.
SOUDERTON 3, CHELTENHAM 1 (25-16, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15)
Alex Androkites (15 kills, four digs, five blocks) and Evan Miller (12 kills, six blocks) led the Indians at the net. Setter Jordan Rawa was credited with 34 assists. Micah Godshall added six kills, two blocks and eight aces, and Mitch Yerk had five kills and two blocks.
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