Four SOL volleyball teams advanced to Tuesday’s District One AAA semifinals and also earned berths in the state tournament.
#1 PENNSBURY 3, #8 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 (25-14, 25-18, 28-26)
In a rematch of last year’s district second round match, the Falcons had an easier time of it this go round, rolling to a sweep of the Patriots.
“Last year they came in – we played at the same place, and they gave us a battle,” coach Justin Fee said. “It was a five-game battle, and we still had that a little in the back of our minds.
“We knew the majority of their team was back from last year. They play solid defense, and we knew we would have to come and play. The first two sets we played pretty well offensively.”
Fee also pointed to the defensive performance of Pat Merrick, who had 15 digs, as key.
“He played unbelievable defense all night,” the Falcons’ coach said. “I was really, really happy with him.”
Merrick also had 10 kills, three assists, two aces and one block. Sean Kropp had a team high 13 kills to go along with five digs and two aces. Chris Spano had seven kills and one dig, and Neil Helsel had four kills, five digs and two blocks. Spencer McCullough added three kills and two digs, and Troy Pereira had six digs.
Setter Jeff Yasalonis orchestrated the Falcons’ offensive effort with 34 assists. He also had two aces, two kills, four digs and two blocks.
“I was happy with Jeff,” Fee said. “He did a pretty nice job of giving the ball to Pat in non-obvious situations.
“I have been challenging Jeff at practice to not necessarily go with the safe set but the smart set. It might be a little bit harder and you have to challenge yourself, but he’s got to start doing that. I think he’s really heading in that direction, which is awesome.”
The Falcons looked like they were going to cruise to the sweep, opening up a 14-7 lead in the third set only to watch the Patriots battle back and extend the Falcons to the limit.
“It was a little disappointing to burn that lead and let it go 28-26,” Fee said. “A lot of it was on us. We made some hitting errors. That was the only part of match I was a little disappointed with, but they still found a way to win even though we hit poorly in that third set.”
The Falcons, who punched their ticket to the state tournament, will face North Penn in a semifinal match on Tuesday.
#2 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, #7 CHRISTOPHER DOCK 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-20)
The Bucks earned a straight set win over the Pioneers, but according to coach Todd Miller, it was anything but easy.
“We knew that Christopher Dock wasn’t going to come in and roll over,” Miller said. “Tim (Mackey) is an amazing coach and makes good adjustments.
“We had to earn it. His kids never gave up - they kept fighting. It wasn’t like we just ran away with the game. They were there to play, and we earned the points we got. I’m proud of my guys, just their hard work ethic and what they continue to do. It took us as full team to do this.”
The Bucks were forced to make some adjustments of their own since they were without middle hitter Keith Saunders, who was traveling to his brother’s college graduation.
“The guys that stepped in worked hard and did a great job,” Miller said. “We moved Jackson Cox, who is usually our opposite, to the middle. He did a good job of reading the setter, moving with the set as Matt Hennigan moved him around. He got some key points and key blocks.
“In his absence at the opposite, Fran Poeske stepped in as an opposite and did a very nice job of making the adjustments he needed to – even having to set. It was just a great all-around match for the entire team. They did a really great job at defense. With the defense we played tonight, it continued to build our momentum and earn some great points.”
Senior Mike Fehrs and junior Christian Rupert both had 12 kills to lead the Bucks. Cox added eight kills, and Joel Klapper had five kills and 13 digs. Jeff Strasburg and Dan Atkins both added 10 digs. Hennigan was credited with 37 assists.
The win vaulted the Bucks into Tuesday’s semifinal where they will face third-seeded Pennridge. They have earned their first trip to the state tournament since 2003.
“The guys had set this as one of our goals – to qualify for states,” Miller said. “At this point, we have to step back and relook at setting new goals.
“Obviously, to go in and play Pennridge is going to be a tough match. They did a great job the last time we played them. Their coach, Dave (Childs), is another very good tactical coach. We know we’re going to have to earn it if we win it. We expect it to be a hard-fought match. We have to be prepared mentally and physically.”
#3 PENNRIDGE 3, #6 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20)
If Thursday night’s performance is any indication, the Rams just might have saved their best for last.
And what exactly did the Rams do well in their sweep of the Indians?
“Everything,” coach Dave Childs said. “It was our best performance probably up to this point. I think our guys knew Rock North was really good, and I think that’s why they came ready to play. We saw them early in the season, and I was really impressed with them.
“We did everything well. We served really tough, which forced them into some errors, forced them out of system.”
Leading the way at the service line was Steve Braun, who had three aces and served for 15 points.
“We served really well as a team, but Steve Braun’s job is to go in and serve,” Childs said. “He goes in the back row to serve for one of our players, and that’s all he does, and he did great tonight.
“He was really effective. He’s someone that doesn’t get credit ever. He took us on at least a four-point run in every game.”
Childs also acknowledged the performances of middles Henry Savage (seven kills, seven blocks) and Mike Bollinger (five kills, three blocks).
“We blocked well,” Childs said. “Our middles – Henry and Mike – played really well, especially Henry.”
Also making important contributions were Christian Lizana (14 digs, five aces), Devon Rice (eight kills, five aces, three blocks), Evan Jacoby (eight kills) and Matt Ziegler (26 assists).
The Rams have won eight of nine matches since dropping a pair of matches midway through the season.
“We learned a lot,” Childs said. “Especially when you have a young and inexperienced team as we did early on – just to see the growth from then to now is awesome.
“You learn from the losses. You learn from the wins too, but they’ve shown a lot of growth.”
This is the fifth consecutive year the Rams will be making an appearance in the state tournament.
“It’s something special,” Childs said. “It means we’ve been at the top of the district for five years, which is great.”
The Rams will face Central Bucks West in a quarterfinal match on Tuesday. The two teams split their regular season meetings.
#5 NORTH PENN 3, #4 NESHAMINY 0 (25-22, 25-22, 31-29)
The Knights came away with a hard-earned sweep of the Redskins to earn their first trip to the state tournament since 2007.
“From day one, the guys set the goal of going to states,” coach Tim Moyer said. “I really believed we had the talent to do so this year.
“It was a very lofty goal that they set, and I kind of had to hold them accountable to that along the way with a few ups and downs here and there. With the very tough conference that we have, I think that helped prepare us for the playoffs down the stretch.
“This is very big for us, especially for me as a second-year head coach trying to bring a winning tradition to a program that hasn’t had too much of a winning tradition the last few years. It definitely helps us turn the corner and lets everyone know this is one of the things that’s expected in the program.
“It was a team effort tonight. It was very hard fought. We didn’t get anything easy from Neshaminy. They’re a solid team.”
A key, according to Moyer, was his team’s strong start.
“They really focused on getting a better start tonight and playing more of a team game,” he said. “We got off to a slow start in the Cheltenham game and might have taken them for granted a little bit.
“Alumni came home and helped out at practice the last couple of days and I think got the guys refocused on the task at hand. We definitely got off to a better start. We had a pretty good serving performance.”
Offensively, the Knights were pretty close to perfect.
“We only had four total errors,” Moyer said. “That’s a big part of it, for sure.”
Junior Kyle Kucro had a big night, delivering 19 kills, 11 digs and three aces.
“He really stepped up tonight,” Moyer said. “He definitely was a difference maker offensively. It was really a well-rounded night for him.
“Andy (Willits) was steady as usual for us, and our senior middle, Yash Boghara, did a nice job stepping up.”
Willits finished the night with 15 kills, eight digs and four blocks while Boghara had eight blocks.
“We got a lot of good touches on the ball, especially late in the game against their two big outsides,” Moyer said. “We shut them down pretty much in the middle.
“Our blockers did a good job of slowing the ball down or getting touches. Offensively, we were hard to stop tonight. That’s kind of been our theme. We’ve been focusing on defense a little more because we have a fairly diverse offense with Kyle and Andy. We have a pretty solid middle attack. Yosh has come a long way. We just got Eric Mellman back, and he’s really done a great job contributing. He can play just about any position, and having him back in the lineup has been key for us.”
The Knights will take on top-seeded Pennsbury in Tuesday’s semifinal match.
- Log in to post comments
