To view action photos of the Pennridge/CB South and the North Penn/CB East matches, please visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Central Bucks South 3, Pennridge 0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-17)
The defending conference champion Titans got off to a slow start in game one of Tuesday night’s season opener, falling behind 10-3. They regrouped to earn a 25-22 win and never looked back, rolling to a sweep of the visiting Rams.
“We just had to calm down and play our game,” senior captain Jayne Mulhern said.
The long Labor Day weekend also didn’t help, according to senior captain Giuli Frendak.
“Obviously, when you’re off for two or three days like we were, you have to get back in sync because we have not been touching the ball,” Frendak said. “We have a new setter this year, so we’re still working out the kinks with her and making sure that we connect with her.”
If Tuesday’s debut performance is any indication, the Titans’ new setter – freshman Kaitlyn Kushman – will be quite an addition to the squad. It was Kushman who stepped to the service line in game two with the Titans on top 15-11. She served out the rest of the set, reeling off 10 straight points that included back-to-back-to-back aces during one stretch.
All told, Kushman had eight aces for a Titan squad that had 19 on the night.
“She’s really going to be a big addition,” Mulhern said. “She has a lot of experience, and we’re definitely lucky to have her. She’s going to be contributing a lot throughout the year.”
Buoyed by their strong finish in game two, the Titans jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third game after Lauren Wise delivered a cross-court kill. Julianne Bagely put the Rams on the scoreboard with a kill of her own, but the Titans went on to open up a 7-2 lead, sparked by back-to-back aces by Meghan Kaminski.
The Rams pulled to within three (10-7) after a Titan hit into the net, but the Titans extended that lead to four after a Kim Lorditch tip for a winner at the net. A Kaminski tip put the Titans on top 14-9, but the Rams rallied to knot the score 15-15 when – sparked by a dazzling play by libero Jillian Bracken on a monster kill attempt – a Rams’ dig fell between a pair of stunned Titan players.
The two teams were deadlocked again at 16-16, but the Titans closed out the game and match with a 9-1 run that included a Melissa Adamson service ace as well as back-to-back kills by Abby Mummert.
“You know what I noticed about them – they have a little more team chemistry,” Ram coach Eric Headley said of the Titans. “They have had a little more time with each other.
“We have had a little bit of turmoil – the coaching staff has changed, the expectations have changed.”
Despite a rough start to the season, Headley was pleased with some of the things he saw in Tuesday’s match.
“We’re good, but they just haven’t been confident for a long time,” the first-year coach said of his players. “We have only had two weeks together.
“They’re starting to understand the system, and they proved that the first game. I think the first game is what they can be, the first game is what we’re capable of a little more consistently.”
Keer tipped her hat to the Rams.
“Pennridge has only been playing together for two-and-a-half weeks,” she said in reference to Headly’s late hire. “He has a great libero (Bracken), he’s training the kids, and I think they will be getting stronger.
“We’re taking it day by day, game by game, point by point and trying to get them all focused on the things they need to do well. We’ll see.”
Kushman is the only new face in a Titan lineup that returns all of its regulars except the setter from last year’s championship squad.
“We have gone through a transition where all the kids have known is the one setter they’ve played with, and now they have to regroup and play with a new setter,” coach Ulana Keer said. “Kaitlyn is from a volleyball family, and they have embraced the sport, so it’s easy for me as a coach to look at a young lady like that and be pleased with what I’m seeing.
“I don’t have kids with that kind of volleyball background walking into my program. She’s the type of kid that’s being recruited out there. It’s an exciting moment for our team - it’s exciting for my kids to play with a kid of that caliber.”
The Titans are hoping to build on the success of last season when they advanced to districts for just the second time in school history.
“We’re just thinking we need to play our game and be on the top of our game the whole time because we have the pressure to do the same as last year, if not better,” Frendak said. “We know that everybody is out to get us, but if we play our game, there will be no stopping us.”
“It definitely feels different this year,” Mulhern said. “We have that on our shoulders, and we want to hold onto it. Last year we were fighting for it, but now we have to hold onto it. It’s something different, but it’s exciting.”
North Penn 3, Central Bucks East 1 (25-16, 25-15, 23-25, 25-21)
The Maidens lost their big guns from last year’s squad with the graduation of conference MVP Devon Redilla and Nicole Kratz, but in Tuesday’s conference opener, they proved that the cupboard is hardly bare.
“I’m really excited,” coach Bryan Yost said. “I know some (people) were saying we graduated the number one and number two girls from the conference from last year, but we have some girls coming up that nobody knows about.”
One player that conference opponents do know about is senior setter Kendra Allen, who had a big night for the Maidens. The four-year varsity veteran finished the night with 32 assists to go along with seven kills and eight digs. Isabelle Kerr had a team-high 12 kills and also had 10 digs. Courtney Gill added 11 kills. Stephanie Elechko led the Maidens’ service game with five aces to go along with eight kills and three blocks. Defensively, Alyssa Chiodo led the Maidens with 14 digs.
“CB East started off a little weak, but they started playing better as the match went on,” Yost said. “They started figuring out our weaknesses.
“It took a little bit for our girls to figure it out, but they figured it out and were able to close them out by counteracting their moves. They really did a lot of the moves on their 
own without me having to say anything – they switched up the blocking, they switched up the defense. It was just a game-time decision they did on their own out there on the court.”
The Patriots were led by Madi Staub with six kills and five digs. Rachel Clow added four kills to go along with seven digs. Kelsey Arm had four kills and four aces. Haley Wicklum had two kills and three digs before she was injured in the fourth game of the match.
Council Rock South 3, Harry S. Truman 1 (25-12, 25-15, 21-25, 25-8)
Sophomore Katie Quinn led a young Golden Hawk squad with nine kills and two blocks. Junior teammate Danielle Kazokas added four kills and three aces.
“Our setter (Danielle Bradley) covered the floor well and led the team in assists,” coach Kelly Korn said. “It was the first day after a long weekend, but I’m definitely pleased with the team’s effort, especially coming back after losing one of the sets.
“We’re young. We have to gain confidence and experience.”
The Golden Hawks have just one senior that sees significant playing time.
Council Rock North 3, William Tennent 2 (25-15, 9-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-8)
It took five games, but the Indians – with many new faces in their lineup – earned the hard-fought win over the visiting Panthers. Leading the Indians was junior Lauren Blachowski with 14 kills and 14 digs.
“Lauren has been on the varsity team since her freshman year,” coach Kelsey Lynch said. “She has come into her own and is playing with confidence.
“She has the potential to be a collegiate Division One or Division 2 player.”
Junior middle hitter Elena Flynn added nine kills and five blocks while senior setter Amy Malakoff handed out 32 assists. Freshman setter Krista Campbell also saw playing time.
“I have to throw her into the fire,” Lynch said of Campbell. “She has to learn how to be on the varsity, and the kids were so excited for her.
“I have known her since she was 13. I coached her older sister six years ago, and I promised Krista I would be here for her senior year and hopefully long after.”
The Indians earned a convincing win in game one but struggled to find their stride in game two.
“Obviously, there are some basic fundamentals that caused it, and they couldn’t get into rhythm,” Lynch said. “The group I had out there in game one did a really good job. At one point, we were winning 20-9. We made a couple of errors, but the kids played really solid.”
Lynch opted to work some of her bench players into game two, and the Indians lost their rhythm.
“As a coach, you ultimately want to give opportunities to kids because sometimes they need those chances to prove what they’re capable of doing when another player can’t play to their full potential,” Lynch said. “It’s obvious from the score that the kids didn’t have the same chemistry. There was mistake after mistake.
“In game three, I used the same group as in game one, and game four was a great game, but we were playing come back. Tennent had a long string of points, and we were making a lot of unforced errors.”
The Indians responded to that loss in game four by seizing early control of the winner-take-all fifth game and never looking back.
Central Bucks West 3, Souderton 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22)
Souderton junior Grace Pinto contributed 11 kills while teammates Alexa Kluka and Hayley Sparks added 10 and eight respectively, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Indians to a win. Senior setter Sam Cressman was credited with 33 assists and three service aces. Fabi Telleria led the Indians defensively with 17 digs while Pinto added 15. Kluka also contributed three blocks and Bekah Ford had a pair.
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Wissahickon 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-7)
Sparked by the nine-kill effort of Kathryn Lucca as well as seven kills from Lauren Laucella, the Hatters rolled to a convincing win in their season opener. Freshman Candyce Riley contributed four aces and led the defense with eight digs. Carly Black – after a year away from the court to play soccer – had a strong start to the season with seven digs and three kills. Freshman setter Sam Jones had 24 assists.
Upper Dublin 3, Cheltenham 0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-12)
Pennsbury 3, Bensalem 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3, Abington 0
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