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FAIRLESS HILLS – Paige Hensor’s voice was barely audible as she tried to put into words what it felt like to be on the court for Thursday night’s emotional SOL showdown against Council Rock North.
“It was unbelievable,” Pennsbury’s senior co-captain said. “I lost my voice. I don’t think I have ever seen us scream like that. I have never seen us that excited.
“We play hard all the time, but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen us that excited. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
Hensor undoubtedly wasn’t the only one without a voice after the never-say-die Falcons’ electrifying 3-2 win over the Indians in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd (21-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 18-16).
This one wasn’t over until Jen Matuza’s ace serve ricocheted off a Rock North player for match point. Within seconds, the players disappeared in a mob of fans that converged on the court and began a chant of ‘PHS. PHS. PHS.’
“Oh my god, I could let every single emotion out,” senior co-captain Drew Jolly said. “I wanted to cry.
“This is all I have been waiting for. Ever since we lost to them at the beginning of the season, it’s all I’ve been thinking about – ‘Beat North. Beat North.’ We brought that will to win.”
And where does this one rank when it comes to big wins?
“This is number one,” Hensor said. “This is the one great, great match that we look forward to all season, and we came out and won.”
“The top, definitely,” Jolly agreed. “There were some great games last year but nothing close to this, especially being my senior year.”
This was a match for the ages.
The passion, the energy and the emotion of players on both squads was apparent on every volley. Every kill attempt was dug up. Or so it seemed.
They played balls off the ceiling rafters, they played balls out of the net. They simply refused to let the ball touch the court as they went after every ball, every point as if their very lives depended on it.
“Awesome, awesome volleyball,” said Rock North coach Kinsey Lynch. “I told the kids – no one should be disappointed.
“They played such a great game. It was literally sideout every point. Every point was a battle. The kids worked so hard. I really couldn’t be more proud.”
Statistically, Jolly led the Falcons at the net with a dazzling 21-kill effort. She also had 10 digs. Sydney Aizen had 14 kills and three aces while Lauren Pisauro added 13 kills and 18 digs. Sammi Eiser had three blocks while Hensor led a stellar Falcon defensive effort with 21 digs.“Defense is probably the number one thing,” Hensor said. “You need defense to play volleyball. There’s nothing without it.
“They’re a great team. You have to pay attention to everything and be ready for the ball at all times. We stepped up and brought our defense to where it should be tonight.”
For the Indians, Sarah Kiely was a force in the middle with 18 kills, 10 blocks and eight digs. Jackie Davies had 36 assists and 15 digs. Rachel Friedman had 12 kills and 22 digs. Bailey Dowd contributed eight kills and 20 digs while Caroline Anderson had five kills and 13 digs. Lauren Malakoff was a key on serve receive for the Indians, who lost for the first time in league play.
Kiely had a theory about what turned the tide in Pennsbury’s favor after the Indians went up 2-1 in games and opened up a 10-6 lead in game four.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just think every time they hit the ball down line, we started slowly shrinking.
“The momentum swung back and forth over and over again, but our mistakes became the biggest factor. Every single mistake starts building up, and if we can’t get over that hump, then those mistakes come back to haunt us in the end, and that definitely happened tonight.”
The Indians still led 14-10, but an Aizen kill down the line was followed by three straight Rock miscues, allowing the Falcons to go on top 15-14.
“For some reason, we had these slumps,” Davies said. “That really got us down because we had to work even harder to get over that slump.”
The Indians went back on top 16-15 after a Falcon net serve, but Aizen knotted the score with another kill.
The Falcons led 18-17 after Julianna Slaven dumped the ball over the net for a winner, but Friedman answered with a well-placed winner to even things up.
A Pisauro kill was followed by a Slaven ace, and the Falcons led 20-18. A Davies winner knotted the score, but Jolly returned the favor to put the Falcons on top by one.
An Eiser block gave the Falcons a 23-21 lead, and although Dowd answered with a block for the Indians, it wasn’t enough as Jolly closed it out with a kill and then a service ace, setting up a winner-take-all fifth game and sending the Falcon fans into a frenzy.
“They never quit, they kept coming back, and that’s all on the girls,” Falcon coach Tim Paulson said. “You can tell people things all the time, but it’s really up to them. They did it. It’s all on them.”
In game five, an Aizen kill for the first point seemed to set the tone. The Indians knotted the score 2-2, but Aizen answered with a kill just inside the back line. The Falcons led 7-4 after a Slaven winner, and the Indians were facing an uphill battle.
“A fifth game to 15 is tough,” Lynch said. “You have to start off right away. You can’t get yourself into a rut. Unfortunately, we were playing catch-up throughout the entire game.”
“It’s really tough,” Davies said. “Knowing you only have that much time adds to the pressure.”
The Falcons still led 9-6 after a Rock North miscue, but Kiely delivered a kill out of a timeout. The Indians pulled to within one after back-to-back Falcon errors, but Jolly delivered a monster block in the middle and – after a Rock North timeout – followed that with a huge kill that ricocheted of an Indian block, putting the Falcons on top 14-12..
The Indians pulled to within one after a Falcon hit out of play, but Aizen responded with another line kill for the Falcons. It was, according to Paulson, Aizen’s line kills that may have turned the tide.
“She got confident, and they couldn’t stop this little girl at the net,” the Falcons’ coach said.
A net serve pulled the Indians to within one, and they knotted the score on a Dani Borgia tip. A Jolly kill put the Falcons back on top, but Davies answered with a block to make it a 15-15 game. Another Aizen line kill – this one off an Indian block – put the Falcons back on top, but Kiely slammed home a kill to knot the score. After an Indian net serve, Matuza came off the bench to deliver an ace that sealed the win.
“It’s amazing,” Hensor said. “There aren’t even words to describe how amazing it feels to win.”
Although the Indians came up short, it had been quite a night.
“When we play other teams that don’t have such amazing fans, the excitement just isn’t as great,” Kiely said. “Coming out here, people are screaming when we’re serving. People are going nuts.
“It builds the fire. Every time I swing, I think, ‘That’s going to shut them up,’ but it did not.”
The win vaulted the Falcons into a tie for the conference’s top spot with the Falcons.
“We’ve won I don’t know how many (championships) in a row, and you just expect it to happen, but the reality is you can’t maintain that, especially with quality programs like Council Rock,” Paulson said. “With high expectations can come huge disappointments, but it also can drive you to great heights.”
Both teams reached great heights in Thursday’s match, but only the Falcons earned a win.
EXTRA POINTS: Watching from the bench was Rock North senior captain Sarah Morrison, who is sidelined indefinitely with a shoulder injury. “It’s not fun at all – I want to play so bad,” she said. Morrison went on to laud the play of her teammates. “It was awesome,” she said. “They have come together so well, they have such great chemistry. We still have a month left, and we can only get better.rdquo;
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