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STATE COLLEGE – The day didn’t exactly start out on a promising note for the Pennridge volleyball team.
The Rams dug themselves an early hole when they were upset by Exeter in their opening match of Friday’s pool play at the PIAA Class AAA Tournament,
“I don’t know what it was,” senior Zech States said. “We came out kind of soft and were just going through the motions. That doesn’t work when you’re in the state tournament.”
Things didn’t figure to improve a whole lot after the Rams fell to top-ranked North Allegheny to finish pool play with a 1-2 record.
But when Parkland defeated Exeter to set up a three-way tie in the battle for second place, the Rams suddenly had new life.
A bye for the Rams – by virtue of their overall record – set up a winner-take-all showdown with Exeter, which defeated Parkland in a one-game playoff.
Trailing 14-7 and still staring at a 22-17 deficit late in the game, the district champion Rams appeared headed for the exit door, but a funny thing happened. Zech States delivered a kill that sparked a dazzling 10-3 run to close out the game, propelling the Rams to an electrifying 27-25 win.
When an Exeter kill sailed out of play for game point, the players converged for a wild and jubilant pile-on. They had punched their ticket into Saturday’s semifinal where they will face a familiar opponent - district runner-up Pennsbury, which won first place in its pool.
“We just dug deep,” States said. “We didn’t want this to be our last high school game ever playing together so we dug deep, and we did it.”
States not only delivered the kill that sparked the Rams’ big run, he followed that with a stuff block and a tip for a winner to make it a 22-20 game.
Exeter called a timeout, and it looked as though the Eagles might have regained momentum after a Ram net serve made it a 23-20 game.
“When it was 22-20 and they called that timeout, we knew we could do it,” States said. “We have been in situations before where we have been losing, and we have come back.”
An Erik Moyer kill pulled the Rams to within two, and it was a one-point game after an Eagles’ hit into the net. Exeter’s Ryan Rimby delivered a kill to put the Eagles on top 24-22, but back-to-back Eagle hitting errors allowed the Rams to knot the score 24-24.
Again, the Eagles were one point away from a win after a kill by Exeter’s 6-9 middle hitter, Matt Seifert. The Rams answered with a huge Mike Shenk stuff block in the middle, and the heartstopping win was in the books for the Rams when an Exeter kill attempt sailed out of play, setting off a wild celebration on the court.
“They don’t give up,” coach Dave Childs said. “We have come back a couple of times this year against really good teams. Tonight there was no quit in them.
“They didn’t want their season to end, and they turned it on when they had to. They played a little desperate at the end, which is what they had to do.”
All but lost in the shuffle of the dramatic ending was the Rams’ standout defense down the stretch. Not only were they delivering big blocks at the net but remarkable digs all over the court – none bigger than a one-handed dig by Austin Jacoby on a ball going out of play after ricocheting off a Ram player. Jake Braun also had a monster game, delivering nine digs.
“In the beginning, we weren’t playing any defense,” States said. “Towards the end, we picked the defense up because we knew if we played some defense we would get some better sets and better touches on the ball.”
States led the Rams against Exeter with seven kills and one block. Jacoby had four kills and four digs. Shenk had a pair of blocks.
What exactly changed down the stretch?
“I don’t know,” Jacoby said. “I think we knew if we lost this game our season was over. We said, ‘If we lose, we’re done.’ We wanted to play until the last possible day, and we are now.
“It’s a long day, it’s a really long day, and that’s the hardest part about these days. It’s all about endurance, and we did a really good job of not giving up. We were still giving everything we had because we knew if we lost, that was it.”
Earlier in the day, the Rams opened pool play with a 2-1 loss to Exeter (21-25, 16-25, 25-22). In game one, the Rams had 13 hitting errors.
“We came out flat,” Childs said. “In every tournament we have gone to, we have started off slow. There’s no excuse. We shouldn’t do it.”
The Rams regrouped to sweep Parkland 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19).
“We loosened up and had fun,” Childs said. “We had a couple of points we wanted to focus on, and we went out and played our game.”
Top-ranked North Allegheny, which had already clinched first place in Pool B, won the first two games of its match against Pennridge 25-18, 25-15 and then rested its starters in a 25-17 Ram win.
Saturday’s state semifinal between Pennsbury and Pennridge is not only a rare all-SOL semi but also a rematch of last week’s district title match.
“Justin and I were talking about it earlier – the possibility of a District one semifinal,” Childs said. “It’s great to represent District One in the state tournament like this.
“It’s a great accomplishment for our team and for Pennsbury, and it says a lot about our district.”
The players, according to Jacoby, like their chances against the Falcons.
“We did it once already, and we can do it again hopefully,” he said. “Of all the teams in the Final Four, we probably know Pennsbury the best.
“I think we have all the confidence in the world knowing we went out and beat them the last time.”
Stats for the day – not including the one-game playoff – show Jacoby leading the Rams with 46 kills, 29 digs and seven aces while States added 34 kills, eight blocks, 22 digs and four aces. Moyer added 18 kills and 10 blocks while Shenk had nine kills, six blocks and four aces. Cory Chinnici had nine kills and five blocks. Setter Will Jager – despite being under the weather – had 97 assists and 17 digs. Braun had 34 digs, and Derek Kemmerer had 12 digs and two aces.
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