Check out the results for SOL boys’ volleyball teams in action on Thursday and Friday nights.
QUAKERTOWN 3, WILLIAM TENNENT 1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 28-26)
To the casual observer, Quakertown’s win over Tennent might look like a major upset, but Tennent coach Jim Creighton hadn’t forgotten how Quakertown had opened up a 20-8 lead and still led 22-12 in the first set of last year’s district opening round match before Tennent rallied for a 27-25 win and a 3-0 sweep in a battle of the seventh and 10th-seeded teams.
“Last year when we played them, we got off to a real good start in game one, and then things sort of fell apart,” Quakertown coach Andy Snyder said. “Jim and I actually talked about that tonight and how neither one of us really knew what happened in that match because it started so one-sided for us and we ended up losing it.”
Quakertown exacted a degree of revenge on Friday night, defeating the visiting Panthers to earn the impressive win. In the pivotal fourth game, Tennent took an early lead, but Quakertown battled back to knot the score 10-10. Again, Tennent went on top, but Quakertown knotted the score 15-15.
“They had us down 24-21, and we came out of a timeout, got the sideout, got a couple of points and pushed it to win 28-26,” Snyder said. “We have had a group of seniors who have been playing together at the varsity level for three years. Two years ago when they were sophomores, they were thrown into varsity positions because I just lacked the depth at that point.
“Now, with two years experience, they’re seniors, and the height they’ve gotten to – four of my starting six are 6-2 or taller, so we have a lot of size. Really, it’s just a matter of time that they’ve finally come together.”
In Friday’s win, Mike Dieroff led the way with 13 kills and six digs while Dylan Flor had 11 kills and 10 digs. Lucas Schan had seven kills, and Coulton Terry had six kills, one ace, five blocks and three digs. Setter Xavier Villanueva had 30 assists, two blocks, three aces and seven digs. Senior libero Nick Wesley led the defense with 11 digs, and Jeff Prusch had nine digs.
“There hasn’t been one player that’s totally stood out,” Snyder said. “Dylan Flor is a senior outside hitter and Mike Dieroff is a junior outside hitter, and the two of them are putting up good numbers for us.
“My two middles, Coulton Terry and Lucas Schan, have both improved a lot in the last two years as well. A lot of it has been they’ve all played either AAU or club volleyball in the offseason.
“Nick Wesley has come a real long way as a libero, and our setter, Xavier, has been setting for us two-and-a-half years.”
While Tennent is 1-1 overall, Quakertown upped its record to 2-1.
“We’re very happy with the win, especially coming off the loss to CB West,” Snyder said.
NESHAMINY 3, ABINGTON 1 (25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 26-24)
Neshaminy setter Dante Benincasa was credited with 30 assists to go along with two kills, two aces and five digs. Kyle Denis led the Redskins’ attack with 10 kills as well as two aces and four digs. Shaun Kelly contributed nine kills, four aces and five blocks, and Tommy Edwards had seven kills and three blocks. Tyler McCaw had five kills and one block. Teddy Krimmel led the ‘Skins defense with 10 digs to go along with one ace and two assists, and Skyler Levin had eight digs, one ace and two assists. Larry Geisler had three aces and four digs.
For the Ghosts, setter Tim Seydel had 26 assists. Matt Penecale had a match-high 17 kills while Jay Bynum had six kills and four blocks. Joe Wylie led the defense with eight digs.
PENNRIDGE 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1 (25-11, 25-10, 22-25, 25-18)
Devon Rice (nine kills, nine digs, three aces), Ben Chinnici (eight kills, eight digs, two blocks), Brian Rosenberg (six kills, four digs) and Henry Savage (four kills, two blocks, six digs) led a balanced Ram attack at the net. Setter Bradley Nase had 28 assists to go along with four kills, six digs and two blocks. Max McVaugh led the defense with 12 digs. He also had six service aces.
Thursday, March 26
BENSALEM 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-9)
Sam Makidon and Paul Bas both had big games at the net for the Owls, who earned the hard fought win in five games. Makidon had 11 kills and three blocks, and Bas had 10 kills to go along with nine digs. Setter Ronak Patel paced the offense with 29 assists.
For the Golden Hawks, Ross Sweed had a huge performance, contributing 22 kills and 30 digs.
The Owls are 2-1 overall (1-1 SOL).
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