Upper Merion defeated Downingtown East to capture the District One Class AAA title on Saturday night at Norristown High School.
By Mary Jane Souder
NORRISTOWN – The scene was a familiar one to fans of Upper Merion volleyball. Melanie Ingram, the program’s all-time kill leader, pounced on a dig by junior libero Kailyn McNamee and turned it into a kill that ricocheted off a Downingtown East player and out of play for match point.
The Vikings – thanks to Saturday night’s 3-1 win over the Cougars (20-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-22) – were the 2013 District One Class AAA champions. It is Ingram’s third district championship in four years and avenges for once and for all last year’s district semifinal loss to the Cougars.
“This means a lot to me,” said Ingram. “This team is just amazing. It’s just like a family out there with them. We have a rhythm, and we just do it all the time when we play.”
Ingram led the Vikings with yet another stellar performance, contributing 19 kills, 17 digs and two aces, but her ‘family’ also made huge contributions. Ashley Shannon had 10 kills, 13 assists and 17 digs, and Emily Shannon had eight kills and nine digs. Carlye Odorisio had two aces and 14 assists.
But the difference makers in Saturday’s match were middle hitters/blockers Niki Carpenter and Eryn Brady, who dub themselves the ‘twin towers.’ Brady had nine kills and four blocks while Carpenter had one kill and nine blocks.
“They played really big today,” coach Tony Funsten said. “It’s been in the offing at different times this season, but they both were dominant tonight.”
Brady, who is 6-1, and Carpenter, who is 6-0, give the Vikings the kind of height at the net that they have not had in the past.
“Blocking is such an important part of the game,” Brady said. “Because it shows your opponents that no matter what they do, they can’t get the ball over the net. We just shut them down, and it’s such a soul crusher.”
“Blocking can be such a turning point in the game,” Carpenter said. “The team gets so much hope after you get a block.
“This is one of our competitive matches in a long, long time, and I think it shows how much we want it and how much we’re striving for it.”
The duo combined for eight block kills in the pivotal second set after the Vikings dropped the first set (20-25).
“That’s what we do in practice,” Brady said. “We go at it.
“We’re so competitive with each other, but we still support each other. Whenever one of us gets a block, we always go crazy.”
“I think the key is to really want it and just to put your mind to it,” Carpenter added. “We have been playing together for a while, and I think there’s a secret thing of who can get more (blocks) in a game.
“We have become teammates and sisters at the same time.”
In the second set, the Vikings sprinted to a quick 10-4 lead, but the Cougars came roaring back, making it an 11-9 game. An Emily Shannon winner was followed by a Brady tip to put the Vikings on top by four, but it was still a three-point game (16-13) after a Viking hitting error.
That’s when the ‘twin towers’ took over.
First it was Brady delivering a block, and then Carpenter had a winner, putting the Vikings on top 18-13 and prompting the Cougars to call a quick timeout. Ingram delivered a kill out of the timeout, and after a Downingtown kill made it a 19-14 game, Ingram delivered back-to-back kills to put the Vikings on top 21-14.
The Cougars made it a 21-15 game, but three straight blocks by Carpenter sealed their fate.
“Every time Niki got a block, she said, ‘I’m doing it for you, Mel. I’m doing it for you all the way,’” Ingram said. “We all rely on each other. We all have a job to do, and we all do it together.”
In the third set, the Vikings sprinted to a 7-2 lead. The Cougars trimmed that lead to 10-7, but an Ashley Shannon kill sparked a four-point run that included a Brady block as well as an Ingram service ace to put the Vikings on top 14-7. A Lauren Mueller kill made it a 16-11 game, but then came one of the night’s most remarkable points that saw Ingram selling out and somehow – with one arm - digging up a kill attempt that was heading for the floor on the back line. Ashley Shannon finished off the point with a push to the back corner of the court for a point that ignited the crowd.
“I don’t even know,” Ingram said when asked about the play. “That was a weird point. I just saw the ball going down, and I threw it up in the air. I threw my arm at it, and everything fell into place.”
The Vikings went on to earn a 25-15 win with Emily Shannon delivering a kill for set point.
“In that first game, they (the Cougars) made all the little plays, and we didn’t make any of the little plays,” Funsten said. “Then we helped them with errors. Don’t make little plays and errors – that’s a formula for disaster.
“In the second and third games, we made little plays, we made big plays, and that combination was dominating.”
The fourth set was a war.
The Cougars opened up a quick 4-1 lead and went on to open up a 12-8 lead after a Mueller kill. The Vikings rallied to knot the score 12-12, but the Cougars led 17-16 late in the set. An Ingram kill knotted the score, and the Vikings led 18-17 after an East miscue. A Mueller kill tied things up, and the two teams were still deadlocked 22-22 after back-to-back Mueller kills. A no-doubt-about-it Ingram kill put the Vikings on top 23-22, and another Cougar hitting miscue made it a 24-22 game, setting the stage for Ingram’s kill for match point.
““It was really nerveracking in the beginning,” Ingram said. “The way we played – you could tell we were really nervous.”
“We came out strong in the second and third games, and I told them, ‘We’re not guaranteed a win. They’re not going to give up.’ I did not want to go to a fifth game. They (the Cougars) were fired up, and they were ready to take that fifth game if they had the chance. We just couldn’t give it to them.”
This district title, according to Funsten, was a team effort.
“The story of this team really is the sacrifices different players have made,” he said. “I have players playing positions they have never played before, and they never doubted or questioned. They just went with the program.
“They just did what I asked them to do and became all-stars, and we won a district title because they’re great teammates and sacrifice for the team. That’s the key to a successful team – that everybody buys in.”
And for everyone involved, this year’s title was special.
“This means so much,” Carpenter said. “We have been dreaming of this day.
“Coming from Upper Merion, you always hear of Upper Merion so far.
“Finally having one under our belts after working so hard for it at long practices, it means so much to all of us, especially sending off our senior (Ingram) – it’s such a great way to end the season.”
The Vikings will open state tournament play on Tuesday night when they will once again take on West Chester Henderson, the district’s fourth place squad, at Norristown High School at 7:30 p.m.
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