Council Rock North defended its title at the Christopher Dock Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.
Winning the Christopher Dock Tournament for the first time last year was nice.
Returning to Dock on Saturday and winning it for the second time was even better for the Council Rock North volleyball squad.
“We thought we had a good shot from the beginning because we had a lot of returning starters from last year,” senior Dan Ford said.
“We were in the championship game our sophomore year,” added senior Christian Kiselica. “We knew coming in this year we were confident, especially winning last year and trying to defend the championship. You know you have a good shot.”
“We want to compete in the state, so beating these teams – it was good.”
The Indians compiled a near-perfect 8-1 mark in pool play, defeating Central Bucks South (25-12, 25-13, 25-18) and Liberty (25-22, 25-21, 25-15) in three straight while winning two of three against Central Bucks West (25-14, 21-25, 25-15). Their first place finish in their pool earned the Indians a bye in the quarterfinals. They went on to defeat William Tennent in the semifinals (25-18-25-18) and then downed the host Pioneers in two straight in the final to capture the tournament crown (25-20, 25-19).
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t here last year when we won it,” Rock North coach Susan Kim said. “I was at a club tournament, so it was nice to see them play here.”
The key to the Indians’ big day?
“Consistency played a really big part,” Ford said.
“Staying as a team and coming together after every play,” senior libero Eric Stettner added.
Ford and Kiselica earned spots on the all-tournament team. Stettner was named tournament MVP. Ford finished the tournament with 61 assists and 24 kills, both team highs. He also had 43 digs and six blocks. Kiselica had 18 kills, 43 digs and two blocks while Stettner had a tournament high 64 digs to lead the Indians defensively.
“Something we always focus on is playing as a team,” Kim said. “You always have that one player on your team that’s really strong, but I think we do a good job of spreading the ball around. It’s something we’ve always been focusing on, and we’re really happy with that. Each player gets to see the ball.”
Also making important contributions were Dan Rafalovitch (41 assists, 21 digs), Chris Richards (20 kills, 25 digs, four blocks), Tyler Burns (22 kills, eight blocks), Garrison Lovely (21 kills, 11 blocks - tournament high), Jeremy Higgins 918 kills, nine blocks) and Doug Devitt.
In Saturday’s title match against Dock, the Indians seized early control of game, opening up an 11-6 lead after a Ford block at the net. The Pioneers made it a one-point game after a Zach Rice block (16-15), but the Indians went back on top 20-16 after a Kiselica winner. A service ace by Devitt made it a 23-18 game, and the Indians closed it out with a kill from Lovely.
Game two was more tightly contested.
The Pioneers had the early advantage, opening up a 9-6 lead after a Jared Hunsinger block. Higgins broke Dock’s run with a kill, and another Higgins kill knotted the score 11-11.
“We try not to get down, just stay calm,” Ford said.
“We’re always very focused when we get down,” Kiselica said.
The Pioneers still led 19-17 after another block at the net, but after the Indians made it a 19-18 game, Devitt stepped to the service line. Things were never the same.
A tape service ace knotted the score, and the Indians took a lead they would not lose on a Ford kill. A kill by Richards put the Indians on top 21-19, prompting Dock to call a timeout.
It didn’t help.
Lovely delivered a kill from the middle, and then it was Richards finishing off another point with a kill. A Ford tip set up match point, and Lovely closed it out, delivering a kill for match point.
“This was big, especially as seniors,” Ford said. “You want to go out with a good impression.”
All but lost in the shuffle was the fact that Devitt closed out the match with a seven-point service run.
“That was big especially because he’s young, and this is his first year on varsity,” Ford said. “He really stepped up big. It brought a lot of energy.”
“He’s a good passer as well,” Kim said of Devitt. “He’ll go back there and get us on runs. He’s not jumping or anything, but he has a nice tough serve. We’re really happy with the runs he gets when he’s in there.”
If it seems as though the players would have been exhausted after eight-and-a-half hours of volleyball, guess again.
“I think tournaments are more fun than games,” Kiselica said. “You play non-stop, and we all love volleyball.”
The Indians have been on a roll since dropping their second match of the season to William Tennent, winning six straight matches including Thursday’s 3-1 win over Tennent in a rematch.
“Honestly, I was kind of glad afterwards because for me it was kind of a wake-up call that we needed to step up our game,” Kiselica said. “We’re not going to just walk through our season. Since then, we’ve been playing really well.”
The SOL was well represented at Saturday’s Tournament. Neshaminy, which compiled a 7-2 mark and won its pool, fell to Dock in the tournament semifinals. Tennent was 6-3 in its pool, finishing second to Dock (7-2). The Panthers defeated Whitehall in a quarterfinal match before falling to Rock North in the semifinals.
Central Bucks West was second to Rock North in its pool, compiling a 6-3 mark. The Bucks fell to Dock in the quarterfinals. Five SOL schools didn’t make it out of pool play – Quakertown (5-4), North Penn (4-5), Cheltenham (1-8), Central Bucks South (0-9) and Council Rock South (0-9).
At the end of the day, only the Indians were left standing.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but I think today our ups and downs weren’t too extreme,” Kim said. “They definitely fought for it, they worked for it, and they deserved it. It was a good win.”
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