Second-seeded Upper Merion was upset by Downingtown East in Saturday’s PIAA AAA semifinal volleyball match.
#6 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 3, #2 UPPER MERION 1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-15, 27-25)
Natalie O’Neil didn’t need a whole lot of words to describe what went wrong in Saturday’s District One AAA semifinal match at William Tennent.
“We fell apart,” the Vikings’ senior setter said. “And I’m not really sure why. It’s just one of those things.”
The Vikings, who have already earned a berth in the state tournament, never found their stride against the sixth-seeded Cougars. Still, it looked as though they were about to extend East to five sets after opening up a 24-19 lead in the fourth game.
The Cougars fought off five straight game points, benefitting from a Viking hitting error and net violation and three kills of their own to knot the score. A Cougar hit out of play gave the Vikings their sixth game point, but again, they could not convert, and a win was in the books for the Cougars after a service ace and another Viking hitting error.
“You cannot relax in a volleyball match,” coach Tony Funsten said. “They deserved to win, and we didn’t deserve to win.
“I told them (after the match) we have to play better. Whatever happens the rest of the way, we’re in the state tournament, but it’s no good if we don’t play better. We have to play better. Even in the first game, we only played well toward the end.”
The Vikings won the first set and hung tough in the second. They led 14-13 after a Casey Griffith tip for a winner only to watch the Cougars open up an 18-14 lead. They would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
In the third set, the Vikings trailed by just one (9-8) after a Griffith service ace only to watch the Cougars close out the game with a 16-7 tear.
“I think overall it was extremely difficult to score points on them,” O’Neil said. “Their defense was so good, and they were so determined.
“When we started to make mistakes, that determination we had started to slip away from us.”
The fourth set was a war. The Vikings battled back from a 17-14 deficit to knot the score 17-17 after a monster kill by Griffith. It looked like the tide might be turning after another Griffith kill put the Vikings on top 19-17. The Cougars knotted the score, but a net serve put the Vikings on top 20-19. An Emily Shannon kill sparked a 4-0 run that made it a 24-19 game only to watch the Cougars rally for the win.
“It was strange,” O’Neil said. “I have been on the team for all four years in high school, and I always admired the older girls keeping it cool.
“It was weird that we were feeling hectic almost. It was an odd feeling. I have to give them credit.”
O’Neil finished the match with 40 assists and 12 digs. Melanie Ingram added 27 digs and 10 kills while Griffith had 21 kills and 11 digs. Ashley Shannon had 11 digs, and Emily Shannon had 13 kills and 29 digs. Junior Mimi Daniels had three blocks – all in the fourth set.
The Vikings will face Strath Haven in Monday’s consolation game at William Tennent.
“After this, it’s important because it will help us get back to where we were and help our self esteem almost to get Upper Merion the way we’re supposed to be,” O’Neil said. “If we win on Monday, it will really help us going into states and help with our momentum.”
Funsten is looking to see his team return to the form that made it such a feared competitor.
“I want to see the team I have been seeing all year,” the veteran coach said. “I want to see a team that plays with a lot of heart that gets good second touches, and if somebody gets a bad first touch we don’t make it worse and we’re ready for the next play.
“We have been preaching that from the time we get into the gym. I’ll stop practice for few things - but when you’re not ready for the next play, which we weren’t a number of times today.”
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