Pennridge captured the title at the Quakertown Invitational on Saturday.
By Mary Jane Souder
Meghan Keefe knew how important it was to get an early jump in the winner-take-all third set against Downingtown West in the title match of Saturday’s Quakertown Invitational Tournament.
“You definitely need a big start in 15 because it’s only a small amount of points,” Pennridge’s senior co-captain said. “If you start off strong with momentum and everything, you’re sure to carry it through the rest of the game, and the other team is already down.”
Keefe made sure the Lady Rams had all the momentum out of the gate, opening the set with an ace and then coming up with another service winner. Serving safe, according to the Lady Rams’ setter, was not a consideration.
“If we hold back, we’re not going to get anything,” Keefe said. “We try to do our most aggressive serves every time. Even if we have to sacrifice a couple in the net, aggressive serves win games.”
A miscommunication by the Whippets on the next point, and the Lady Rams were off and running.
Sparked in no small part by their quick start, the Lady Rams went on to earn a 15-11 win over the Whippets to earn the 2-1 win and the tournament title.
“After last year – we were so close to winning last year,” Keefe said of the Lady Rams’ second place finish to Gwynedd Mercy Academy. “This year we’re like, ‘We’ve got to do it.’”
“We just wanted to play hard and push ourselves to be the best we can be,” senior co-captain Lauren Drugotch added. “A good outcome like this – we were successful, and we’re happy.”
Earlier in the day, the Lady Rams were 6-2 in pool play after sweeping Souderton and Freedom and splitting with both Downingtown West and Germantown Academy.
“We played well in a strong pool, which helped too,” coach Zech States said. “With our pool being so tough, we had to rise to the occasion.
“We played well under really good competition, and it was good to see us play that way.”
By finishing first in their pool (Pennridge edged Downingtown West on points), the Lady Rams had a bye into the semifinals were they earned a 2-0 win over Germantown Academy (25-15, 25-17), setting the stage for their title match with the Whippets.
“We played some tough teams today, and having that tough pool really helped us because when you move to a championship match, you have to play your best to win,” Drugotch said.
The opening set was a battle. The Rams led 11-9 after a kill by Victoria Jones, but the Whippets knotted the score 13-13. A Steph Judkins kill was followed by an Ana Vitantonio kill, and the Rams led by two. They opened up an 18-14 lead after another Jones winner and upped that lead to 21-14 after back-to-back service aces by Judkins, who reeled off seven straight points. By the time Judkins left the service line, the Lady Rams led 23-14, and they went on to earn a convincing 25-15 win.
The second set was another story. The Whippets led by just one (12-11) after a Judkins kill, but they followed that with an 8-3 run to go on top 20-14.
Behind a strong service run by Jones that included back-to-back winners by Judkins, the Lady Rams made it a 21-19 game. On her second of back-to-back winners – a tip, Judkins took a shot in the face on a Whippet kill and left the court. The Rams pulled to within one (20-19) after an Ariana Przybylowski kill in the middle, but that’s as close as they would get as the Whippets went on to earn a 25-22 win.
“It’s definitely a mental thing,” Keefe said of dropping the second set. “We don’t have as much energy as we had before, and we get down, and the other team gains momentum when we should be holding it.
“It’s definitely all mental though because we know we can do it.”
Judkins returned to the court for the third and deciding set.
“Having Steph was big,” States said. “She’s a good all-around player, not just her hitting capabilities, but her passing is huge.
“She’s a go-getter. She doesn’t let the ball hit the floor. If she’s around, she’s going to do whatever it takes to get that ball.”
Sparked by Keefe’s quick 3-0 run, the Rams had early momentum. Twice the Whippets pulled to within one, their final at 6-5, but a kill by Drugotch gave the Lady Rams a 7-5 lead. A Whippet hit out of play was followed by a Jones kill, a Vitantonio ace and a Whippet hit into the net, and just like that, the Lady Rams led 11-5. The Whippets would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
“The only thing that really changed was our defense in the second game,” States said. “The first game was great – our defense was there, but in the second game, Downingtown West came out with a better defense.
“I told them, ‘Look, defense wins game,’ and in the third game, they came out wanting to play defense, not letting the ball hit the ground. Just serving tougher, better serve receive. That was the big change.”
“We really think we can hit with any team. We have really good hitters, and defense was key today. I think we stepped it up defensively
Judkins led the Lady Rams with 51 kills and eight aces. Pryzbylowski had 25 kills and 11 blocks while Drugotch had 20 kills and nine blocks as the duo combined for 45 kills and 20 blocks out the middle. Vitantonio had 10 kills. Libero Kelly Bergen had 65 digs in a standout effort while Keefe had 107 assists and 12 aces.
EXTRA POINTS: Central Bucks South advanced to the semifinals where the Titans fell to Downingtown West 2-1. The Titans also received a bye into the semis after rolling to a 7-1 record and a first place finish in pool play. The Titans split their games with Quakertown but swept William Allen, Gwynedd Mercy and East Stroudsburg South…Quakertown finished second in its pool, splitting with South and Gwynedd and sweeping William Allen and East Stroudsburg…Souderton was 0-8 in pool play.
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