#1 Upper Merion (First round bye)
Earning the district’s top seed is nothing new to the Vikings. Last year they were seeded second and the year before that, first.
“They’re kind of used to having a target on them,” coach Tony Funsten said. “They see it more as an honor than pressure right now.”
The Vikings gave early signs that this season could be something special when – at their season-opening tournament against some of the state’s competition – they finished in the top four.
“There were so many good teams,” said Funsten of the 24-team tournament.
The Vikings lost their first game in pool play but went on to win the rest to capture first place in their pool, earning a spot in a pool with heavyweights Merion Mercy, Unionville and Southern Lehigh. The Vikings finished second in that pool.
Eight days later, the Vikings hosted a tri-match with Villa Maria and Unionville and won both matches. They went on to capture yet another American Conference crown, beating out contenders Hatboro-Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh for the top spot.
Funsten points to his team’s early-season 3-1 win at PW as a pivotal match.
“We won the first game, and they killed us in the second,” he recalled. “The third and fourth games were probably two of our best games at that point in the season.
“I attribute a lot of that to our fans. They came out in force, and I think they were very influential in the match. They helped us a lot.”
The undisputed leaders of this year’s squad are senior Devyn Ingram and junior Cassidy Koenig.
“They define good leadership out on the court,” Funsten said. “They might not be the rah-rah kids, but by their actions, they lead on the court.
“You know you can count on them. It’s not like, ‘We think we can count on them. ‘We know we can count on them, and that’s where you start.”
Also making important contributions are several lesser-known players.
“Shannon Phillips has really played well as our libero and so has Annie Lawn, a middle hitter,” Funsten said. “We don’t need them to be outstanding all of the time. We just need them to be good volleyball players the vast majority of the time, and they’ve done that.
“What we have is real good balance. Annie is good, but so is Heather Krick, our other middle. Melanie Ingram – even though she’s a freshman – is really accomplished on the outside already, and she has one of the strongest serves on the team.
“This is a team that complements each other. We certainly rely on the consistency of Cassidy and the outstanding play of Devyn, but we don’t ask them to do stuff that they’re not capable of doing. Everyone takes care of themselves, and that allows Cassidy and Devyn to be outstanding at times and the rest of the team to be consistently good.
“One of the most important things about volleyball is that you’re consistent in what you do. Sometimes it’s better to be consistently average than to be occasionally really good and then sometimes really bad.”
#27 Marple-Newtown at #6 Council Rock North
If it’s momentum you’re looking for, the Indians appear to have it.
Rock North picked up three monster wins in the season’s closing weeks, rallying for a win over Pennsbury that gave the Indians a share of the National Conference title. They went on to defeat St. Basil Academy and Villa Maria. All three wins came in tense five-game matches.
“I think that really showed the ability of the kids that they’re able to pick it up against a good team and fight for every point,” coach Kinsey Lynch said. “There were moments when those games could have gone either way, but the kids really pulled together.
“They knew how important it was to win, and it gives us good momentum going into the postseason.”
The Indians are anchored by a strong core of seniors that includes Rachel Friedman, Dani Borgia, Caroline Anderson and Bailey Dowd.
“Rachel is our powerhouse on the outside,” Lynch said. “She’s just been playing unbelievable volleyball the last couple of weeks. Everything, as a coach, you’re trying to teach your kids and hope they get by their senior year – she’s got it.
“She’s jump serving really aggressively. Her digs have been fantastic. Her statistics since she’s been on the varsity the past three years have been unbelievable, and she has been a huge part of our success the past couple of weeks.”
Borgia is the Indians’ libero, whose relentless efforts in the back row have been key.
“She’s a fantastic kid and has a really aggressive serve,” Lynch said. “She’s a real vocal presence in the back row. She’s always talking and is very calm and brings that dimension to the team.”
Anderson is a middle hitter/blocker but filled in for Dowd at right outside when the senior star missed several matches.
“She played some of the best volleyball I have ever seen her play,” Lynch said. “She has stepped up whenever we needed her to step up. She’s such a well-rounded hitter, and I can honestly say as a coach I’ve never been so proud of my middles – I’ve always worked hard with them to make sure they’re good diggers and not just hitting and blocking, and it’s really paid off.
“That’s probably one of her best assets – her digging and passing. She’s just so consistent.”
Dowd, the Indians’ gifted right side hitter, is bound for Virginia Tech.
“She is huge for us in every sense of the word,” Lynch said. “She’s obviously very tall, but she’s also a powerhouse in the front row, and she’s huge part of our lineup.
“She’s a gamer. She likes pressure, and she deals well with it.”
#22 Sun Valley at #11 Plymouth Whitemarsh
Plymouth Whitemarsh is another team that ended its season on a roll.
The Colonials defeated Pennsbury 3-0 and followed that with a 3-1 win over perennial district power St. Basil.
“We were building momentum throughout the entire season,” coach Michael Nguyen said. “I think it was the culmination of all the hard work the girls have put in throughout the season. We started early in August and we put in a lot of extra time doing camps. I think it’s all just coming together at the right time.
“It was really nice for us to end the regular season that way. Hopefully, we aren’t satisfied with those strong victories but that we can push ourselves through the tournament. We haven’t had much success in the past few years.”
Anchoring the Colonials will be senior standout Devon Maugle.
“She’s our floor leader, the team leader, the person we look to when in trouble,” Nguyen said. “The seniors on the team have really stepped up and have led by example and have pushed us to those great victories.”
Alex Griffin has been the perfect complement to Maugle at the net.
“Alex has been coming on strong,” Nguyen said. “You just throw a set up there for her, and she’ll put it down over the double block or find a spot on the court to tip it to.
“She’s just huge above any block that most teams can put up, and it’s just nice to have that athleticism on the outside with her and Devon – seeing how high both of them can reach.”
Opposite side hitter Meghan Lawrence has also been a silent contributor.
“She doesn’t play much volleyball offseason but has been a key part of our victories with her serve receive ability and just knowing where to place the ball when we need it,” Nguyen said. “She’s blocking the other team’s best hitter, and she’s been huge for us on serve receive.
“We had a 3-0 loss to Downingtown East earlier in the season when she was missing. Not having her on the team – not only for her serve receive but that mental stability on the team – we just fell apart without her.”
#21 Radnor at #12 Pennsbury
#20 North Penn at #13 Hatboro-Horsham
The Hatters – buoyed by the return of Kathryn Lucca – are also entering districts on a high note. They posted an impressive 3-0 sweep of Villa Maria in their regular season finale last Thursday.
Opposing teams have yet to figure out a way to contain all-everything middle hitter Julie Harvey.
“Julie is going to be a key player,” coach Kathy Tanner said. “We’re counting on her for most of our offense.
“We lost Kathryn Lucca at the beginning of the season to an ankle injury, and she had a really good match against Villa. She’s back and at full strength. I don’t think anyone expected that, including herself. Her confidence is there, and she really helps our momentum going into the playoffs.”
Several lesser-known players have also been key for the Hatters.
“Kiersten Collette, our other outside hitter, is not a known name, but she’s just a smart player,” Tanner said. “Her intelligence helps us score some points – she knows how to strategize.
“Lauren Laucella has been blocking well lately, and between those four offensive players, we feel good offensively going into the playoffs.”
On the other side of the court, North Penn coach Bryan Yost is working on a game plan to contain Harvey.
“We know they have a huge middle,” the Knights’ coach said. “We’re moving some of the girls around – our better blockers – to try and shut this girl down.
“We’re going to try to use all of our hitters on both ends to try and spread her out as much as we can. Having Nicole Kratz, Lindsay Edgar and Devon Redilla in the front row is really going to be huge if we can have all of them on the same page and firing away.”
Yost points to his captains, Kratz, Redilla and setter Kendra Allen, as the glue that keeps the Maidens together.
“Especially with Devon and Nicole being four-year players along with Kendra – every move they make on the court, the other girls feed off of it,” Yost said. “With their positivity and their 100 percent, go-get-it attitudes – they’ve been huge.”
The Maidens appeared to be on track to win the Continental Conference crown but suffered their first loss of the season to eventual champion Central Bucks South and went on to lose three in a row.
“We came back against Souderton – they’re not one of the strongest teams, but we really showed all the things that fell apart on us ,” Yost said. “Our energy, our 100 percent, three-games attitude on the court was all back against Souderton.
“Today at practice the energy was just amazing. It was amazing all week last week. They have stepped up. I think those losses made them realize they have to work harder, and they have worked harder.”
#18 Central Bucks South at #15 Ridley
The Titans are hoping they can improve on last year’s one-and-done finish in districts. Last year, they were ousted in three games by St. Basil. This year, they have a date with Ridley.
“We need to take it one game at a time,” sophomore Abby Mummert said. “Our goal is to beat the first team and keep going as far as possible.”
Teammate Jenn Smith, for one, is looking forward to the challenge of districts.
“We don’t really remember beating teams 3-0, but we remember the North Penn game because it was a tight game,” the Titans’ junior setter said. “I feel as though all the district games are going to be tight and long, and we’ll remember everything that happens.
“I actually want to face a hard team so we can prove ourselves. Last year we weren’t really ready because we weren’t expecting it. It was the first time any of us had been to districts. This year I think we’ll be more prepared.”
The Continental Conference champions take a 14-1 record into Tuesday’s opening round.
“During the regular season, we were taking a lot of the teams in three, and at practices, we didn’t have much of a will to try that hard,” junior libero Jayne Mulhern said. “Now that districts are coming and we know the competition is extremely different, I think we’re all more excited to go out and give it our all.”
“It’s great to be part of this,” teammate Giuli Frendak said. “We have the confidence and we have the skills - we just have to perform when it’s our chance.”
#23 William Tennent at #10 Villa Maria
Tennent eight seniors - Melissa Wasserleben, Melissa Horn, Kate Schalck, Kelly Hendrickson, Dana Ballentine, Leah Brown, Katie Hardy and Karin Lydon - waited anxiously to receive word that they’d earned a coveted bid to districts.
“It’s kind of like the NCAA Tournament – you go in the selection room, and you don’t know what’s going to happen,” coach Brian Bassler said. “Our senior captains were waiting for the message to come out to relay to everyone else, and they said they just got bombarded – Did you hear? Are we in?
“Just the excitement throughout the team – it started with the seniors, and we haven’t had a lot of that before. It meant a lot to go their final year. It’s a battle for some of the schools – and we’re one of them – that don’t have a lot of club players and don’t have the finances some of the other schools have.”
This year’s trip to districts is the fourth in five years for the Panthers.
“Now that we continue to keep going back – the freshmen see it and the sophomores see it, and it’s an expectation,” Bassler said. “Now that that’s an expectation, you can look to take the next step.
“We’ve never won a playoff match, and the freshmen and sophomores are talking about what it would take to get a better seed. That’s what we have been looking for.”
Wassleben – a soccer standout who opted to stay with volleyball - is the undisputed leader of the Panthers.
“She has 100 percent been our best player all year long,” Bassler said. “She’s carried the team at times, and she has the most kills, the most blocks and has really been dominant at the net.
“In our last three or four matches, she became really confident with the jump serve, and now that’s a weapon too. She has turned into a really nice player.”
The Panthers have earned a date with a Villa Maria squad that boasts a schedule that includes nothing but district powers.
“They play such a tough schedule,” Bassler said. “Every team except Villa Joseph Marie was a playoff team. It’s crazy.
“We talked about some of the strengths we have, and we have to go to that. We’re the underdog. We have nothing to lose. You play as loose as possible and throw everything out there.”
#25 Abington at #8 St. Basil
Coach Dan Marsh arrived at Steph Hagan’s house after Thursday night’s district seeding meeting to announce the verdict to four of his team’s seniors - Nicola Fedorowicz, Brittany Lloyd, Nikki Gass and Hagan – who were eagerly anticipating the news.
Were the Ghosts in or were they out?
“I got to the house, and all four of them were sitting on the couch holding hands,” he said. “I told them, ‘There are 34 teams for 28 spots, and a lot of the coaches had a lot of nice things to say about you.’ They were like, ‘Oh no.’ I said, ‘You’re in.’ They were jumping up and down.
“They’re really happy to be there.”
Marsh doesn’t have to look far to figure out who will be leading the Ghosts when they take the court on Tuesday night. Fedorowicz – the team’s setter and a captain - is the heart and soul of the squad.
“Three years ago, in her freshman year, she dove for a ball and had a compound fracture in her arm,” Marsh said. “Just for her to play volleyball is amazing because that was traumatic, and as a setter, she has to run all over the court.
“She’s really battled the last three years, and she’s become a key to our team.”
Sophomore outside hitter Liz Gassman is the undisputed go-to player at the net. She finished the regular season with 260 kills and is averaging 17 kills per match.
“She’s probably one of the better hitters in the league,” Marsh said. “We have always been a pretty good defensive team and were able to keep balls alive, but we really didn’t have the ability to get kills until this year.”
Marsh – who said this year’s team has really come together - acknowledges that the Ghosts have nothing to lose going against a perennial powerful St. Basil squad.
“Not that our girls are just happy to be in the playoffs – they’re definitely ecstatic and pumped to compete against a top-notch team,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “But we played Upper Merion twice, PW twice and Hatboro twice, so they’re not going to be anything we haven’t seen. We know they serve very well, and they have some real good hitters. We need to pass the ball and get rid of the ball.
“A lot of these girls know each other. St.Basil is in our school district, and they’re excited to go up against them.”
#28 Quakertown at #5 Strath Haven
What a difference a year makes.
Last year, the Panthers were 0-12. This year they’re 7-5 and playing in the district tournament.
“They just all clicked this year to turn it around,” coach Wendy Mahler said. “We had a rough season last year. We hung with a lot of teams, but we just couldn’t get over that hump.
“This year they came out stronger, and we re-arranged things.”
The addition of Charly Wernke, a foreign exchange student from Germany, has played a key role in the Panthers’ turnaround. She is the team’s top hitter and also sets in several rotations. Another welcome addition was junior outside hitter Anna Mease, a home school student.
Senior libero Sarah Howard, a second team all-league selection last year, is a four-year varsity veteran who anchors the Panthers’ defense.
Junior Geena Close also sets for the Panthers, who run a 6-2. Middle hitter Sophie Butler has also come up big.
A highlight of the Panthers’ season was their huge upset of North Penn – a win that cost the Maidens a share of the Continental Conference crown.
“It was wonderful,” Mahler said of the win. “I think they came into that game knowing that everyone is beatable and if they played hard they could do it.
“They stayed steady the whole time and played as a team. Everybody did the job they had to do, and that built our confidence.”
Earning a berth to districts was the icing on the cake for the Panthers.
“They were very, very excited,” Mahler said. “After losing our last game of the season to Pennridge, they thought maybe they wouldn’t make districts. That was a tough loss. It was Senior Night and Dig Pink, and I think the girls weren’t as focused as they could be.
“This will give us a good opportunity since we have a lot of juniors returning next year. It’s also nice for our seniors.”
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