The Pennridge volleyball team saw its remarkable 75-game regular season winning streak snapped on Tuesday when the Rams fell to Central Bucks West.
By Mary Jane Souder
The Pennridge boys’ volleyball team has been playing with a target on its back for quite some time now.
Five years to be exact.
That’s how long it had been between regular season losses for the Rams, who saw their remarkable 75-match regular season winning streak snapped on Tuesday night when they fell to Central Bucks West 3-1.
“Having it end is difficult because not for a second did Christian (Lizana) or I think we would lose this year,” senior Mike Bollinger said. “Against West, I didn’t really feel pressure because – again – I didn’t think for a half of a second we were going to lose.
“I knew it was going to be a tight game because I knew they were good, but I didn’t think we would lose.”
Tuesday’s loss was the first in the regular season since the Rams fell to Council Rock North on April 28, 2008. The winning streak began two days later when the Rams defeated Central Bucks South.
Bollinger, Lizana and the rest of the seniors were in seventh grade when the streak began.
“To be part of it is awesome because you’re playing with the best players in the state year after year,” Bollinger said. “This is my third year on varsity, and to play with those guys is awesome because practicing with them makes you better, which perpetuates the streak.”
Coach Dave Childs, who is in his eighth season at the helm, is the architect of a program that has become the standard bearer, and the Souderton grad knows a little something about winning streaks. He was part of Souderton’s 54-match regular season winning streak that ended when he was a senior.
“It’s a cool thing to say I was a part of that, and it’s a cool thing for these guys to say they were part of this,” Childs said.
Assistant coach Zech States was a sophomore on the team when the streak started.
“I would never have thought it would go on this long,” he said. “This has turned into something really big, and it’s a good thing to be part of something like this.”
States has witnessed firsthand the pressure that goes hand-in-hand with a streak of this magnitude.
“I almost feel bad for the guys that had to keep it going because when I was a sophomore, it was more like, ‘Oh, we’re doing good,’” States said. “There wasn’t all that pressure of ‘We can’t lose this game because it’s gone on so long.’
“Everybody talked about it, made a big deal about it. They had all that pressure to keep it going, and the league is strong this year all the way around.”
When Childs took over the helm at Pennridge, a winning streak was the last thing on anyone’s mind - except perhaps his, and although he inherited a struggling program, Childs had decidedly ambitious goals.
“My goal was in four years to be a contender at the district and state level,” he said.
In Childs’ fourth year, the Rams – following their coach’s master plan to the letter - advanced to the District One AAA title game where they fell to Pensbury 3-0. That season also marked the program’s first of four straight trips to the state tournament.
One year later, the Rams returned to the district final, and this time they won, upsetting a Pennsbury squad that was ranked number one in the state at the time.
“On the bus ride to the district finals, I pulled up the state rankings on my phone,” Childs recalled. “It was the first time we cracked it at number 10.”
The Rams went on to advance to the state semifinals where Pennsbury, the eventual state runner-up, exacted a degree of revenge by earning the win. Pennridge has been in every district title match since 2009, winning titles in 2010 and 2012.
The key to success, according to Childs, is simple.
“The kids,” he said. “They buy in.
“The older guys lead by example, and it’s easier for the younger guys to come up and play a role. They learn, and it’s just a good cycle to have. I do things the same way basically we did it when I was at Souderton with how we run the jayvee and varsity teams.”
Childs regularly talks volleyball with his cousin and long-time Souderton assistant Dan Stover, and he also credits his assistants for their roles in helping to build a tradition of excellence at Pennridge.
“One of the reasons we have been successful is our jayvee coaches,” he said. “Ryan Coyle, Andrew Landis, Mark Ulmer and Zech States have all helped develop the players who have contributed to our success.
“Good jayvee coaches are so important to the success of a program.”
Childs is not wasting any time looking back, and despite a pair of losses last week, his focus remains the same.
“Whether we win games or lose games, my goal is to compete at the top of the district and the top of the state every year,” he said. “I told them that our goal remains the same – to win the league. Losing two matches doesn’t mean we’re a bad team. We have to go out and fix what didn’t work and still try and win the league.
“I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder team. I want to be consistently one of the top teams. As the kids buy in and work hard, that’s how it happens.”
According to Bollinger, with the winning streak behind them, the Rams can get down to the business at hand.
“I think for a lot of the younger guys or even the guys who only played one year of varsity, there was a lot of pressure,” he said. “But that pressure is gone now, so they can actually start swinging and not playing afraid, playing with nothing to lose, and that’s what is going to make them better.
“You can’t be playing not to lose. You need to go get it.”
Which is exactly what the Rams did for 75 straight matches as they put their names in the record books.
“It’s been awesome to be part of this,” States said. “It’s fun to see the program grow from nothing to become such a big thing.
“The guys have to be able to shake this off and say, ‘Look, we lost a streak, but the one way to get over it is to win out from here on out and get the streak going again for future years.’”
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