New Hope-Solebury defeated top-seeded Faith Christian in Wednesday’s District 1 2A title game. Photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
District 1 2A final
#2 New Hope-Solebury 3, #1 Faith Christian 1 (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-15)
Joy and love.
They’re not words that typically come up in postgame interviews. Unless, of course, you’re talking to a coach or player on the New Hope-Solebury girls’ volleyball team.
“We thrive off it,” senior Valerie Segler said. “Everything we do is together. We always play with joy. We have so many things that drive us, so many little games we do – just so many things that get us going, and we always feel like a family.
“We always play to our fullest because we’re so happy working together. And joy is such a big part of who we are and how we play.”
Wednesday’s District 1 2A title was the program’s first since 2023 when this year’s senior class were freshmen. Senior Nora Redfield admits she thought it just might be a yearly occurrence.
“They had won it three years prior, and it felt nice to win freshman year,” Redfield said. “Unfortunately, the two years after that, we came in second, and this year, we took it home again, which is amazing.”
After winning the first two sets on Wednesday, New Hope dropped the third.
In the third set, New Hope trailed 13-11 but rallied to knot the score 13-13. The NHS Lions went on to take a 19-17 lead on a Gabby McCagg service ace, but Faith came out of a timeout and rallied to go on top 23-19 on its way to a 25-23 win.
“They had a little bit of momentum, and I think it startled us a little bit, but we knew we had to get it back, and that wasn’t really an option,” McCagg said. “In years past and also in games past, we have let up, but we decided we can’t do that anymore.”
New Hope left no doubt about the outcome in the fourth set, opening up an 11-4 lead on a Grace Harm service ace and extending its lead to 14-4. The NHS Lions went on to win 25-15, setting off a jubilant celebration.
“I think the key to this year’s team is we honestly just had to work with each other and play for each other,” McCagg said. “Because if everyone plays for themselves and individually, then that’s not a team working 
together, and you won’t be able to execute as well as we did.
“Tonight we really did well on covering and our communication and blocking, hitting – everything to find ways to put it out tonight.”
“I feel like we all played together really well tonight,” Redfield said. “We let up a little bit in the third set, but we came back in the fourth a lot stronger. I think we do a good job of not focusing on our mistakes and working to better ourselves every point.
“This feels amazing. It feels like everything we’ve been doing this season – our work has paid off.”
“This feels great,” Segler said. “I’ve never won a district championship. I’ve seen obviously, my teammates win freshman year. I’ve been out with an injury but to be a part of it and help my team – it feels absolutely amazing.
“We’ve struggled (in this game) in the past, and we have had the opportunities, but we never had the momentum to finish, and this year I think we really had it. We played to our full potential, which is what we really needed as a team.”
With the win, the Lions punched their ticket to the state tournament – – the lone District 1 team to receive that distinction.
New Hope-Solebury coach Chris Marchok:
–The joy and love message: “I talk about joy and love all the time, and everyone thinks I’m weird. But the whole reason I’m sitting here with this trophy is because it was joy and love.
“When they literally play with joy and love, that’s when we’re the best. I had an official tell me – ‘You’ll really be good if you ever get them to be really serious and focused.’ I said, ‘No, we’re really good when we’re smiling, when we’re loving,’ and we did that.”
–Senior leadership: “When you take a look at the team we have out there, it has to operate together, and it can’t be a roller coaster. It has to operate consistently. It has to go through the downs as well as the ups. And the old men who sit on the side can’t do it. It’s up to the Gabbys of the world, the Noras of the world, and everything we have in terms of that leadership to keep them focused. I have four seniors out there who are just wonderful, wonderful human beings, and they lend the calmness in the middle of the storm.”
–Shoutouts: “I thought Stella played out of her mind. She was one of our Setters and Right Sides, and she made some unbelievable defensive plays back there. This was probably her best match of the season by far. In four sets, over maybe 175 points, there was not a single play where she didn’t play max effort through the whistle. It was her purest, most dominant, match all year.”
“Gabby McCagg is a wonderful young woman and leader. As our Libero switching in and out, she is always my connection to the court. She and I are sharing thoughts and strategy the whole match. Gabby constantly helps me see the court through our players’ eyes during a match and lets us shift on the fly if need be. Tonight was no different as she was such a strong, steady leader throughout.”
“Nora Redfield had a wonderful, wonderful match out there. Nora’s the type of kid that – if a mistake happens, you see her take a breath, and she’s right back at it as a leader. She’s just an incredibly strong leader who is deceptively calm as she is always looking to aggressively attack as she did tonight with multiple kills.”
“Val Segler is another terrific kid who did a really solid job back there at DS (defensive specialist). Val is all about team first in how she supports everyone.”
“We asked Gracie (Harm) about two or three weeks ago to be an all-around, six-rotation player because of who she is, because of her wonderful leadership, energy, and heart. Tonight we again asked a lot of her against a really, really good team in a really, really high pressure situation, and once again she was fantastic.”
“Charli Moore is a left-handed Middle. That’s weird, that’s not normal, but she has adapted to it, embraced it, and she has become this incredible hitter and blocker for us up there. She’s scoring points. She’s disrupting the other team with blocks. She’s changing games with her serves. All while playing a position that is not meant for her as a left hander. She is willing to not only do whatever the team needs, but to truly embrace and rejoice in it!
“Lucy Ross is a truly remarkable story for us. Her growth from freshman year to now has been 100 percent driven by her desire to be her best and contribute however she can. She has worked so hard on her own and become an important force for us battling in the middle. Tonight, she again helped form the base of our defense out there as she disrupted Faith’s attack time and time again.”
“Kendall Savitsky is another super young woman who is one of the most intense competitors around. On the
court, she is always working, moving, attacking. On the bench she is always thinking, analyzing, looking for new ways to attack and defend. In our huddles, Kendall is a leader in sharing those insights and helping steer the ship. Tonight was not different as that was so important against a dangerous team like Faith.
“We spent time this year talking about the lessons of family and teamwork that Geese give us, showing that every single member of the flock has a role. Tonight, every member of our family had a role. Our reserve players were so incredible and exuberant in their support that we actually received a warning from the officials that someone had complained we were celebrating too much! Every single player was all in!
“All of these kids and their maturity came together to weather a Faith team that I believe had us down in three of the four sets at the midway point of each set. We simply stayed the course and kept plugging as a result of the shared leadership of all our Lady Lions!”
–Credit to FCA: “Faith Christian had a heck of a year. We went up to their place in September and played a five setter against them. We won in five. Last year, we beat them in the regular season in five, and that is not to brag. That’s to say our teams are incredibly well matched. I have all the respect in the world for coach and for Faith. There’s all respect. We say we want to play the best, and that was a really, really good team over there. They’re an unbelievable squad. They are incredibly talented. They play the game well. That was a real victory over a real team.”
Up next: New Hope-Solebury will face District 11 2A champion Tri-Valley in Wednesday’s PIAA 2A State Tournament opener.
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