North Penn, CB East, Quakertown and Pennsbury advanced in the District One AAA Volleyball Tournament Tuesday.
#8 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, #9 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2
Tuesday’s opening round match pitting Central Bucks East against neighboring rival Central Bucks West figured to be a war.
It was.
The Patriots needed five sets to eke out the win.
“It was tough,” East coach Rob Minschwaner said. “The last time we played them (on April 30) we had a big lead in the first set and we ended up losing, but I was very happy and proud of the kids because they fought back and won the next three.
“Tonight we actually held on and won the first set, and I thought, ‘Maybe we’ll get through this a little quicker,’ and we lost the next two sets after giving up big leads and made it very tough.
“Again, the kids just really, really had a lot of fight in them. I’m very, very happy with the way they clawed their way back and made me proud. Both teams played great. I think West and East bring the best out in each other.”
If there was a turning point in the match, according to Minschwaner, it came in the fourth set.
“We could not pull away for a while, and they had a great hit, and Jarred (Minschwaner) made a diving dig – it was perfect, and it really picked the team up, and then Slayer (Chris Woolslayer)\ just hammered it down,” the Patriots’ coach said. “At that point in time, once we got that lead, the energy level was just sky high, and they were able to carry that through the rest of the night.
“Both teams played great defense. We knew West was going to be phenomenal defensively, and they were, but credit our kids – we played great defense right along with them, and we ended up being able to hang on and get the win.
“Some of the rallies were just amazing. You’d think the ball was down four or five times, and it just keeps coming back up. It was a really fun match.”
Woolslayer had a big night at the net, leading a high-power East attack with 17 kills He also had a team-high 17 digs to go along with the Patriots’ only three aces. Also coming up big at the net were Pierce Budson (16 kills, .406 hitting percentage, seven blocks), Henry Mallison (15 kills, .419 hitting percentage, 2.5 blocks) and Eric Chmiel (11 kills, .348 hitting percentage, five blocks). Mallison also had eight digs.
Setter Mason Miller had 52 assists, and Carter Haban had 10.
“Mason did a great job running the offense,” Minschwaner said.
Jarred Minschwaner had 14 digs while Miller added seven. Shaw Malone had six kills (.462 hitting percentage), three blocks and two digs. Jake Staub had four kills and four digs.
As a result of their win, the Patriots have earned a date with top-seeded Pennridge on Thursday.
#7 PENNSBURY 3, #10 LOWER MERION 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-20)
The Falcons needed just three sets to send the Aces packing. Josh Leon led a balanced attack with 10 kills (.444 hitting percentage) to go along with three digs and two blocks. Also stepping up on attack were Sean Sweeney (five kills, one ace, five digs), David Leavey (six kills, seven digs, one block) and Kenny Hickman (five kills, three digs, three blocks). Setter Kevin Killoran had 24 assists to go along with one kill, five digs and two blocks. Mason Reilley (two kills, one assist, one dig, two bocks), James Greenland (three digs), Brad Edwards (three digs) and Michael Geary (two aces, one dig) also made contributions.
Pennsbury’s win sets up a district quarterfinal rematch with a familiar opponent when the Falcons will travel to Council Rock North to take on the second-seeded Indians for the third time this season.
#6 QUAKERTOWN 3, #11 ABINGTON (25-16, 22-25, 29-27, 25-15)
The Panthers earned a hard-fought win over a tough Ghost squad.
“Coming into the match, we new Abington was much improved from the beginning of the season,” coach Andy Snyder said. “We knew they were very athletic and very big at the net, so we were prepared for them in that way.”
The Panthers rolled to a convincing win in the first set but then stumbled in the second, falling 25-22.
“In game two, we knew they would make adjustments and come out a different team,” Snyder said. “It went point for point back and forth but ended up going in favor of Abington.
“We had some unforced errors at the net that cost us in the middle of that game and put us behind a little bit, and we just couldn’t get them at the end.”
The third game was a dogfight with the Panthers eking out the pivotal 29-27 win.
“We came out strong again and put them in a hole, but they battled back out of it and tied it up,” Snyder said. “They pushed us to the wall, we pushed them to the wall and ended up winning that set.
“That really set the tone. We were up 2-1, and we didn’t want to let them back in. We came out really strong in game four – took a lead and made sure not to let them back in and kept building on it.”
The Panthers rolled to a 25-15 in the fourth set to clinch the match.
Dylan Flor led the Panthers with a 17-kill effort to go along with six digs and one block. Mike Dierolf added eight kills and 10 digs while Coulton Terry had eight kills and four blocks. Lucas Schan had two kills, three blocks and two aces.
Setter Xavier Villanueva had 37 assists to go along with one kill, 16 digs and two aces. Libero Nick Wesley had 11 digs.
“Dylan was number one in kills, but everyone contributed,” Snyder said. “It took everything clicking tonight in order to beat Abington.
“They have a very talented team – they’re very athletic, they have great size, and with some of their players being experienced in the basketball postseason, they knew what to expect in a postseason match. They may not have been there before for volleyball, but I’m sure those guys were seasoned from their postseason in basketball. It was just a battle of wills at the end.”
For the Ghosts, setter Tim Seydel had 39 assists. Matt Penecale had 15 kills, while Johnny Eppinger had nine kills. Jay Bynum added seven blocks and eight kills, and Ben Razzi had six kills and five bocks. Joe Wyllie had six digs.
Quakertown will travel to William Tennent Thursday for a rematch. Quakertown won the initial meeting between the two squads 3-1.
“Right now, that’s the farthest thing from our mind, other than we know we can beat them, but now it’s a matter of doing it again,” Snyder said. “They’re improved since then as well.”
#5 NORTH PENN 3, #12 HAVERFORD (25-18, 25-21, 25-18)
The Knights made easy business of the visiting Fords in Tuesday’s opening round match. Setter Mark Elias had 26 assists to go along with 10 digs. Connor Sloan led the Knights at the net with 10 kills, and he also added four digs. Jake Walter was key both offensively and defensively, finishing with eight kills and eight digs. Tim Dickenson added six kills while Harsh Boghara (four kills) and Steven Landes (three kills) also contributed at the net.
North Penn will travel to Avon Grove for a battle of the fourth and fifth-seeded squads.
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