A fifth place finish in the state.
Although Pennridge was hoping for a shot at a state title when it travelled to Penn State University for the PIAA Championships this weekend, coach Dave Childs admitted that finishing fifth wasn’t a bad way to close out the season.
“We would love to play tomorrow morning and really have a shot at the title,” the Rams’ coach said. “When you look at it, it’s frustrating now, but it’s still a great season.”
In their opening match of the day, the Rams suffered a 2-1 loss to State College (18-25, 17-25, 25-20). They followed that with a 3-0 loss to eventual pool champion Hempfield 3-0 (23-25, 22-25, 11-25). A 3-0 win over Whitehall in their final match in pool play (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) set up a three-way tie for second place in the pool. The Rams – as a result of the tiebreaker – earned a bye in the playoff for second. State College disposed of Whitehall and then brought an end to the Rams’ season with a 25-18 win.
“I think we played well all day,” Childs said. “The first match we did not, but we played Hempfield really well and Whitehall really well.
“We ran into a hot (State College) team, and they beat us. We didn’t execute as well, but I thought we played hard in that game. Offensively, we didn’t put the ball away. That’s what it comes down to.”
Childs bids farewell to eight seniors.
“This group was really something special,” he said. “They all got along.
“They all worked hard to get here. If they didn’t work as hard as they have, they wouldn’t have gotten here. Their fifth place finish was nothing but hard work from that group.”
Seniors Jake Braun, Mike Shenk, Derek Kemmerer, Matt Trumbower, Matt Beck, Matt Nyce, David Spadaro and Damon Waslin weren’t all starters, and some didn’t see a whole lot of playing time, but all of them – according to Childs – played a significant role, and it is hard to see them go.
“Especially someone like a Jake Braun,” Childs said of his veteran libero. “You look at it every year when you lose some seniors, and you know you have to go on without them, but other players step up.”
Braun finished the day with 44 digs. Setter Matt Trumbower had 97 assists and eight blocks. Erik Moyer had 38 kills and 12 blocks. Kalin Nelson had 23 kills, 19 digs and five aces, and Mike Shenk had 31 kills. Matt Beck added 12 kills and eight blocks. Kemmerer, Ryan Chinnici and Christian Lizana, according to Childs, also contributed.
“Matt Trumbower had a great day,” the Rams’ coach said. “Everyone was up and down, but he did a great job for us today.
“Matt Beck was effective again out of the middle. Our middles (Beck and Moyer) were our offense for most of the day. Derek Kemmerer struggled early but battled through and contributed, and Mike Shenk stepped up and played a big role. Even the ones who didn’t play a lot are good players and great guys to have on the team.”
The Rams closed out the season with a 21-3 record.
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