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QUAKERTOWN – Things can change in a hurry in a 15-point winner-take-all game, and Council Rock North found that out in the third game of its semifinal match against Bethlehem Catholic in Saturday’s Quakertown Tournament.One minute the Indians were leading the Hawks by two, the next they were down by three, and the match was all but over as the Hawks emerged victorious in the third and deciding game to earn a date against Hempfield in the title match (25-23, 18-25, 15-12).
“Once you have a lead, you definitely have to ride it out,” Rock North senior John Whitman said. “We kind of messed up with that one.
“When you have a lead in a shortened game like that, you have to keep pushing and pushing, and we started to play more careful to try and keep the lead, and it kind of backfired. It’s very frustrating.”
Although the Indians came up just short against a Hawk squad that is ranked third in the latest Class AA state rankings, Whitman acknowledged that facing teams of that caliber is important.
“In District One, we get a lot of competition, but we really, really do like to get out of the district and play teams that might give us a little more competition that we normally don’t see as often,” Whitman said. “That’s why tournaments like this and Dallastown, which is coming up, are so important to our team.
“We find it really challenges us and helps us improve a lot.”
In pool play, the Indians rolled to a 7-1 record, downing Christopher Dock, Central Bucks South and Warwick 2-0 and splitting with Freedom. The Indians downed Emmaus in a quarterfinal game 25-19.
“We always try and play our game,” Whitman said. “But sometimes when you get that immediate lead, you play more relaxed and can get in your groove.
“Against Emmaus, we took a quick lead and played our game, and that really helped us out. In the last couple of games, we were battling the whole time, and I think it takes away from the play that really helps our team win.”
Hempfield, ranked second in Class AAA in the latest state poll, downed Bethlehem Catholic 2-0 in the title match (25-16, 25-16), and according to Quakertown coach Andy Snyder, the annual tournament is attracting better teams.
“That’s what I’m trying to do with this tournament,” the Panthers’ coach said. “We’re trying to get more of the bigger names here because then more people want to come. We have two state-ranked teams playing against each other in the final. It helps make this one of the tournaments people want to come to now.”
For the Indians, who have yet to lose in SOL play, the opportunity to go against one of the state’s top-ranked squads in the semis was significant.
“In the league, we don’t get as much competition as we do now,” coach Susan Kim said. “We’re almost never tested, and they almost have to challenge themselves.
“We’ve had nice wins against those teams when we’ve played well, but it’s not the same thing. The ball coming back over the net, the blocks, the swings are a lot stronger, so it’s nice to get that experience. It’s nice to see them being tested and still see we have things to work on. We’re not peaking yet. We’re still working our way up.”
Hunter Stevens led the Indians with 38 kills, 13 blocks and six aces. Ryan Garven added 30 kills, four blocks and 17 digs. Dan Ford had 54 assists, 14 kills, eight aces and 25 digs. Whitman added 53 assists, 14 kills, 11 blocks and 24 digs. Chris Richards led the defense with 26 digs to go along with four aces. Eric Stettner had 22 digs, and Garrison Lovely had eight kills and five blocks.
“Hunter is our go-to person, but one thing we have really been able to establish this year is being able to move the ball around a lot and go to other people,” Kim said. “We spread the ball well.
“Even when Hunter is not on the court sometimes, we know we can still generate offense, which is nice to know. Going into the second game (against Bethlehem Catholic), the biggest change we made was getting more touches on the ball and making some key digs in that set as well. That’s what really got us going. Offensively, we can keep up.”
Quakertown also advanced to the tournament semifinals. The Panthers boasted a 7-1 mark after pool play, downing Upper Dublin, Lower Merion and Palumbo 2-0 and splitting with Liberty. The Panthers earned a 25-23 win over a nemesis Souderton squad in the quarterfinals.
“For us, that was more personal because in the league, we were beat by Souderton twice, so this was definitely a good thing,” Quakertown’s Zach Morgan said. “For us, it’s all mental.“We have beaten Pennridge in club, but we just can’t beat them here. When all of us are on the same page and we’re aggressive and out to win, we can beat teams that everyone thinks we can’t.”
The Panthers were without their senior middle, Ian Jones, in Saturday’s tournament but still found a way to excel.
“It was really hard because we normally have a strong power, a strong middle and even a strong weakside, and because we were missing our middle, we had to pull our strong weakside to play middle, and we had to have most of our offense from middle and power, which limits what you can do,” Morgan said.
The absence of Jones made the Panthers’ win over Souderton even more impressive.
“We played a tight match with Souderton early in the season,” Snyder said. “This past week we played them, and it was horrendous. It was like ‘the other team’ showed up.
“Coming back today, we forgot all about that, and we played with emotion and played the game we’re capable of playing.”
The Panthers hope their strong showing will be a springboard as they head down the home stretch of the regular season.
“This helps our team with confidence,” Morgan said. “It just creates momentum for the last third of the season.
“Beating Souderton gives us some confidence we can play at a higher level,” Snyder added. “We still have some key matches coming up in the last four games.
“If we can build off of that and take those matches, it gives us a much better position going into district seeding.”
Snyder lauded the solid performances of Morgan and setter Nate Stout.
“All we were doing today was focusing on winning matches,” said Snyder. “We had younger guys that we cycled through who got some playing time, so they’re ready.
“Everybody played, and everybody contributed. We weren’t a one-man show, that’s for sure.”
The Panthers fell to eventual champion Hempfield in the semis 2-0 (25-4, 25-12).
Pool A | Quakertown | U. Dublin | Liberty | L. Merion | Palumbo | Wins | Losses |
Quakertown | 25-22 25-18 | 25-21 29-31 | 25-13 25-16 | 25-16 25-17 | 7 | 1 | |
U. Dublin | 22-25 18-25 | 25-23 29-27 | 25-20 25-9 | 21-25 15-25 | 4 | 4 | |
Liberty | 25-21 29-31 | 23-25 27-29 | 25-15 25-11 | 25-17 24-26 | 4 | 4 | |
Lower Merion | 13-25 16-25 | 20-25 9-25 | 15-25 11-25 | 15-25 21-25 | 0 | 8 | |
Palumbo | 16-25 17-25 | 25-21 25-15 | 17-25 26-24 | 25-15 25-21 | 5 | 3 |
Pool B | Souderton | B. Catholic | Bensalem | Haverford | Masterman | Wins | Losses |
Souderton | 17-25 22-25 | 25-14 25-19 | 25-22 32-30 | 25-17 25-20 | 6 | 2 | |
Bethlehem Catholic | 25-17 25-22 | 25-12 25-10 | 25-19 25-21 | 25-13 25-20 | 8 | 0 | |
Bensalem | 14-25 19-25 | 12-25 10-25 | 15-25 17-25 | 25-20 19-25 | 1 | 7 | |
Haverford | 22-25 30-32 | 19-25 21-25 | 25-15 25-17 | 25-17 25-23 | 4 | 4 | |
Masterman | 17-25 20-25 | 13-25 20-25 | 20-25 25-19 | 17-25 23-25 | 1 | 7 |
Pool C | C. Dock | CB South | CR North | Freedom | Warwick | Wins | Losses |
Christopher Dock | 25-10 25-12 | 19-25 20-25 | 25-16 25-14 | 25-20 25-19 | 6 | 2 | |
CB South | 10-25 12-25 | 11-25 20-25 | 13-25 13-25 | 20-25 21-25 | 0 | 8 | |
CR North | 25-19 25-20 | 25-11 25-20 | 23-25 25-14 | 26-24 25-19 | 7 | 1 | |
Freedom | 16-25 14-25 | 25-13 25-13 | 25-23 14-25 | 25-23 27-25 | 5 | 3 | |
Warwick | 20-25 19-25 | 25-20 25-21 | 24-26 19-25 | 23-25 25-27 | 2 | 6 |
Pool D | N. Penn | CR South | Emmaus | Cheltenham | Hempfield | Wins | Losses |
North Penn | 25-16 25-23 | 15-25 25-17 | 25-17 25-18 | 13-25 17-25 | 5 | 3 | |
CR South | 16-25 23-25 | 19-25 15-25 | 26-24 25-23 | 11-25 22-25 | 2 | 6 | |
Emmaus | 25-15 17-25 | 25-19 25-15 | 25-11 25-15 | 26-24 15-25 | 6 | 2 | |
Cheltenham | 17-25 18-25 | 24-26 23-25 | 11-25 15-25 | 13-25 10-25 | 0 | 8 | |
Hempfield | 25-13 25-17 | 25-11 25-22 | 24-26 25-15 | 25-13 25-10 | 7 | 1 |
Pool Standings
Pool A
Team Wins Losses
Quakertown 7 1
Upper Dublin 4 4
Liberty 4 4
Lower Merion 0 8
Palumbo 5 3
Pool B
Team Wins Losses
Souderton 6 2
Bethlehem Catholic 8 0
Bensalem 1 7
Haverford 4 4
Masterman 1 7
Pool C
Team Wins Losses
Christopher Dock 6 2
Central Bucks South 0 8
Council Rock North 7 1
Freedom 5 3
Warwick 2 6
Pool D
Team Wins Losses
North Penn 5 3
Council Rock South 2 6
Emmaus 6 2
Cheltenham 0 8
Hempfield 7 1
Playoff Results
Quarter Final
Quakertown 25
Souderton 23
Hempfield 25
Christopher Dock 15
Council Rock North 25
Emmaus 19
Bethlehem Catholic 25
Palumbo 12
Semi-Finals
Quakertown 4 12
Hempfield 25 25
Council Rock North23 25 12
Bethlehem Catholic 25 18 15
Finals
Hempfield 25 25
Bethlehem Catholic 16 16
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