CR North & Pennridge Advance to District VB Final

CR North and Pennridge advanced to Thursday’s District One championship match. Photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back to view a gallery of both semifinal matches.

#1 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, #4 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 (30-28, 14-25, 25-20, 19-25, 17-15)
Greg Marchetti called Tuesday’s district semifinal win in a grueling five-set match a ‘confidence builder.’ Senior Will Desautelle described it as a ‘nail biter.’
By any name, it was hard earned, and it not only vaulted the Indians into Thursday’s district title match against defending champion Pennridge in a rematch of last year’s district title match, it also ensured the Indians a coveted berth in the state tournament.
“Every match is different, and Pennridge is a much different team than CB West,” the Indians’ coach said. “We’re going to see how it goes.
“We were lucky to come out on top tonight. It could have gone either way. The match was back and forth all night – a lot of lead changes, a lot of emotional plays. It was probably very similar to Friday when East played West (in a five-set quarterfinal match).”
The outcome to this one was in doubt until the final point. In the winner-take-all fifth set, the Indians led 6-4 only to watch the Bucks answer with five straight points to go on top 9-6. The Indians regrouped, rallying to take the set 17-15.
“I think it was just being aggressive,” Desautelle said of the key to the match. “Particularly in the second and fourth sets, they did a great job of controlling the game, imposing their will on us.
“I think we were playing more just not to lose rather than playing to win and being aggressive. We were trying to be too perfect instead of playing like we know how to.”
That the match went to five sets should have surprised no one after a first set that saw the Indians eke out a 30-28 win. The Bucks responded with a no-doubt-about-it 25-14 win in the second set. It was a pattern that continued the entire match as the team’s alternated wins.
“We were down a couple of times,” Marchetti said. “We tried to stay positive, tried to stay aggressive.
“Sometimes the ball just bounces your way. The third game we controlled pretty well, but the second and fourth games West controlled pretty well. The first game was a coin flip (30-28) and the last one was a coin flip.
“On each play, there were different things. The longer you play a team in a match you start picking up their tendencies, and I think we did a better job of making some adjustments throughout the match.”
With Desautelle (ankle injury) seeing limited time, Eric Van Thuyne (15 kills, 17 digs, four aces, one block) and Jason Yakimiv (14 kills, 24 digs, 4.5 blocks) led the way at the net. Setter Logan Fuglestad had 37 assists, 12 digs, three kills, two bocks and one ace.
Alex Saraceno (20 digs) and Aaron Knotts (12 digs) had big games defensively. Sean Helmlinger (eight kills, one dig), Desautelle (one block, one dig), Harry Wyatt (two kills, five digs, 2.5 blocks) and Robby Ward (18 digs, one kill, one block) also contributed to a win that ensured the Indians a spot in the state tournament.
“That’s huge,” Desautelle said. “This is what we have been working for all year.
“We wanted to get to this point. We wanted to go back to the district championship, especially after losing last year. It’s just another great opportunity. Even though it was an ugly win, a win’s a win, and we’re just happy to move on to the next round. We did lose to (Pennridge) last year, but I don’t think we should focus on that too much because if that happens we’re going to lose focus on the current game and doing what we need to do in order to win.
“I think we have to be aggressive and just have the mentality that we’re going to pass every ball to target. We have some great offense when we’re in system, and it starts with our passing, our defense.”
By earning a trip to the state tournament, a burden was lifted for an Indian team with a senior-heavy roster.
“It’s actually sometimes a little easier having underclassmen because it’s not like the last time going through it,” Marchetti said. “We have a lot of older guys on the court.
“It’s hard to get it out of their minds that it could the last couple of games that they play. I know the guys wanted another opportunity to play Pennridge after losing in the finals last year.
“Getting into the state tournament – it’s the first time our team has made it into the state tournament in back-to-back years which is a huge testament to the seniors and the commitment they’ve made over the past couple of years.”
Council Rock North (18-2) will face Pennridge in the district title match at William Tennent on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Last year Pennridge earned a 3-0 win over Council Rock North (27-25, 25-23, 26-24).
Central Bucks West will face Pennsbury in the third place game at William Tennent (6 p.m.)

#3 PENNRIDGE 3, #2 PENNSBURY 0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24)
Dave Childs and his players weren’t worried about their ranking when the district seedings were released.
“It’s just numbers,” said Childs, whose team finished .006 behind Pennsbury in the power rankings. “I think they know if we play well we feel like we can play with anyone.”
The Rams’ singular focus was earning a berth in state as well as the opportunity to defend a district title they own.
Mission accomplished on both fronts.
“We want to win a district championship,” Childs said. “We won last year, and at this point, that’s the goal.
“Then we’ll look forward to states after that. Tonight it was nice to qualify and beat a quality opponent, but we have to focus on winning the district championship now.”
Although the Rams earned the sweep, it was anything but easy.
“Both of these teams can play better than what they played tonight,” Childs said. “We struggled through some things, but we made plays when we had to – came up with some big plays in key moments down the stretch, and that was the difference.
“They’re a good team – well coached and good players.”
Even when things weren’t going their way, the Rams battled.
“I think our most impactful part of the game was just bouncing back when we were falling behind,” senior setter Jesse Smith said. “We did that by passing well and putting balls away.
“At this point in the season, we don’t really care about (rankings) because we know all the teams left are going to be good competitors, so we just have to go out there and play our best.”
The difference in the match, according to Childs, was the Rams’ ability to put the ball away, and no one did that better than Ben Chinnici, who finished with 20 kills to go along with five blocks.
“Chinnici had a big night, like usual,” Childs said. “But other guys like Cross (Edwards) and Josiah (Friesen) came up big in game three.
“We made a little comeback in game three because we were down a lot – we were down 8-3 at one point, and we went on a run halfway through that game. Josiah and Cross really stepped up and played well.
“As good as Ben is, you can’t just rely on him all the time because ultimately someone is going to be able to shut him down, so you need to be able to get contributions from everyone.”
Smith delivered many of his 36 assists to Chinnici. Cross Edwards had seven kills, nine digs and two aces, and Josiah Friesen had six kills and two blocks. Aaron Nelson added six kills and four blocks. Kevin Jones had three kills and two blocks.
“Ben definitely always takes at least two maybe three blocks, so then we have other options that we go to,” said Smith, who also had six digs and two blocks. “They’re just as reliable to put the balls away.”
Austin Rush led the defense with 22 digs while Jeremy Baum added five digs.
With a spot in the state tournament assured, the Rams next order of business is defending a district title they own when they face Council Rock North at William Tennent on Thursday (7:30 p.m.)
“(Earning a trip to states) is definitely a relief, so that’s kind of a chip off our shoulder already,” Smith said. “But we still have a big game because we definitely want to win districts too.
“There’s a little pressure because you always want to do as good as last year, if not better. Right now we’re focusing on the game Thursday, and we’ll move forward from there.”
For the Falcons, Sean Sweeney led the way at the net with 13 kills, six digs and one block. Brad Edwards led the defense with 15 digs and two assists. Kenny Hickman added seven kills (.500 hitting percentage), one ace and two blocks, and Mason Reilley had four kills, one dig and four blocks. Setter Kevin Killoran handed out 25 assists to go along with five digs and two blocks. Also contributing were James Greenland (four kills, five digs), Anthony Rosso (two kills), Brett Garretson (one kill) and Charlie Bluestein (three digs).

 

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