Pennridge defeated Upper Dublin to capture the District One 3A title. Neshaminy swept CR North to earn the third and final state berth. Pennridge/UD photos provided courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery.
#4 PENNRIDGE 3, #2 UPPER DUBLIN 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-23)
Ryan Benscoter’s monster kill had barely touched the floor between a pair of UD players when the celebration began.
Benscoter – arms raised in victory – turned to the Pennridge faithful before he was mobbed by his teammates. The Rams had saved their best for last, pulling off their second upset in as many matches, and this one in convincing fashion to capture the District One 3A title.
“Every single person on this team came in and wanted to win, and it was a great job by literally everyone,” Benscoter said.
No one had a bigger performance than Benscoter, who was unstoppable at the net. The senior outside hitter had 25 kills and a dazzling .458 hitting percentage.
“A lot of times we’re working on everyone else, and we challenged (Benscoter) with being a little more efficient and he certainly did that tonight,” Childs said. “He had one of his more efficient games, and he was really unstoppable, especially here at the end.”
The district title was the first for the Rams since 2017, their sixth in 12 years.
“It’s always our goal to get into the final four and give ourselves a shot to be in this game,” Childs said. “If you’re playing well at the end of the season, that’s what it’s about.
“We were bad at the beginning of the year in my opinion. This is maybe my most improved team I’ve coached.”
Was a district title on anyone’s mind when the season began?
“In the beginning of the year, no,” senior Bryce Muller said. “Everyone is improving – everyone is improving their own game, everyone is doing their job really well.
“As a team, we started going out and team bonding off the court, and that really helped us. The team bonding definitely built the chemistry between us. Plays are being made. Everybody is stepping up, we’re picking everyone up, the energy is up, we stay in control the whole time.”
“I had a lot of confidence in our guys,” Benscoter said. “I trusted this group a lot, but I did not see it going like this. It’s really a testament to all our guys. This really has been a team effort. We’ve improved all year.
“Every single guy on this team has been willing to come to the gym and work, and I think that’s a really big thing and a testament to all my guys.”
Upper Dublin had lost just once this season, and that came at the hands of the Rams with each team winning on their home court by identical 3-2 scores in the two regular season matchups. On Thursday, the Rams needed just three sets as they rolled to a sweep.
“I don’t know – I just think we came out sharp from the beginning, and we executed,” Childs said. “The moment wasn’t too big for us. We just played our consistent game and executed.
“I was fully expecting a five-setter. We haven’t played well in the playoffs to this point, and I felt tonight we started clicking a lot better. It’s a good time to do that.”
Benscoter slammed home three straight kills to open the match, but the Cardinals rallied to go on top 5-3 after a kill by David Levin. It was a 7-7 game when setter Riley Kodidek stepped to the service line and reeled off five straight points to put the Rams on top 12-7.
The Cardinals trimmed that lead to 13-10, but an Alex Derk service ace was sandwiched by a pair of Muller kills, and the Rams had upped the lead to 16-10. They went on to notch a 25-14 win.
“I think it was just the mental game,” Muller said. “We know we can’t let anything get our heads down. Every volleyball team falls apart when even just one person has their head down. As long as we keep our heads up and keep going and keep the momentum, it works.”
In the second set, the Rams led 21-15 after a Benscoter ace, but the Cardinals rallied, making it a 23-20 game after back-to-back Trevor Molloy kills as well as a kill by Collin Dowdell. A Muller kill in the middle stopped the Cardinals’ run, and the Rams went on to win 25-20.
The third set was tightly contested. The two teams were deadlocked 12-12 after a Molloy kill, and it was a 17-17 game after a Ram hit out of play. It was still anyone’s game late with the Rams – who led 24-20 – clinging to a 24-23 lead when Benscoter delivered the big kill for match point.
“It was so much fun,” said Benscoter, who fed off the Pennridge faithful. “I love to have fun on the court, and tonight was a big game for me, a big deal for me, so this was definitely fun.
“We have great fans, we always travel well, so I love getting them involved because the second I get them involved, we all start going. Once we start going, we’re a really hard group to stop.”
Muller came up big in a supporting role, finishing with eight kills and three aces
“Our middles are playing well,” Childs said. “Muller had a great night tonight, and they forget that we have other guys that can play.
“We don’t get to this point without every one of the guys on our roster. Ryan gets all of the highlights and the headlines, but we don’t get here without the eighth and ninth guy on our roster.”
Kodidek finished with 30 assists, two aces and nine digs. Dan Detweiler led the defense with 12 digs. Skyler Ammon added six digs and four assists and Thomas McKinney had six digs and two blocks. Tyler Johnson added three kills and four blocks, and Derk had a pair of aces.
It all added up to big win and perhaps one of the most unexpected of the program’s six district titles under Childs.
“It feels great,” Benscoter said. “One of my big things was I wanted to get my young guys on. I wanted to show them what it’s like and create a winning culture again, and after losing (the season) last year, it was really important to get my young guys ready to come back.”
Pennridge (17-2) will face District 12’s second place team in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 3A state tournament. Upper Dublin (21-2) will take on the District 12 champion.
Third Place
#3 NESHAMINY 3, #1 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH (25-15, 25-11, 25-17)
The Redskins laid claim to the third and final state tournament berth with a sweep of the Indians.
“I am so proud of this group for everything they have accomplished thus far,” coach Pat Klingerman said. “We still have a lot of volleyball ahead of us. Looking forward to battling in states on Tuesday.”
Kieran Edwards (10 kills, four blocks) and Paul Allen (seven kills) led a balanced Redskin attack. Colin Smith (five kills, one ace, four digs), Dan Berzin (four kills), Ben Clendening (four kills, three blocks), Josh Clendening (three kills, one dig) and Josh Hamilton (three kills, one assist, two aces, three digs) also contributed at the net.
Setter Nick Storz dished out 31 assists to go along with one kill, two aces and four digs. Stephen Fario (six digs, three aces) and Jesse Kovaschetz (five digs, one ace) led the defense. Peter Nowak added one kill.
Neshaminy (16-3) will face the District 3 or District 6 champion in Tuesday’s opening round of the state tournament.
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