North Penn & Central Bucks East advanced to Thursday’s District 1 3A title game at Council Rock South. Pennsbury & Pennridge will battle it out for third place and the final state tournament berth.
#1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, #1-12 PENNRIDGE (25-18, 25-14, 25-23)
The Patriots kept their perfect record intact, earning a spot in Thursday’s District 1 3A title game against North Penn with their sweep of the Rams.
“Pennridge is a very disciplined team, and I was glad we were able to match their intensity level,” East coach Rob Minschwaner said. “They surpassed expectations if you look at the seedings, but they have such a strong program.
“Them getting here is not a surprise at all. They’ve been playing very good volleyball. We played about as well as we have played all season tonight.”
The Patriots were led by Dylan Colbert, who contributed 10 kills, three aces, two blocks and five digs.
“We had some jitters coming into this match, but after the first game, we were able to shake them off a bit and settled down,” Colbert said. “Pennridge has really been playing well lately, and we knew it would be a tough match.
“It’s the same for North Penn. They have really good players too, and that match Thursday is going to be another tough one.”
Also contributing for the Patriots were Jacob LaBouliliere (eight kills, two digs, one block), Christian Wolf (four kills, one ace, four blocks), Steve Storm (28 assists, two kills, one block) and Thomas Gallagher-Teske (five kills, one block). Defensively, Ryan Figus led the way for the Patriots, picking up six digs and an ace. CJ Dalby (two blocks, three kills) and Jack Miller (one ace, one dig) also made significant contributions for East.
For the Rams, Danny Rutter led the defense with 10 digs, and setter Tommy Cassel had 26 digs. Ryan Benscoter had a team high 12 kills while Ethan Lionetti had eight kills and three blocks. Austin Jalosinski added six kills and two blocks while Matt McCreary had three kills. Chris McKinney had two kills and two aces.
“Credit CB East for executing tonight,” coach Dave Childs said. “They never let us get our offense going and earned their spot in the final.”
Central Bucks East will face North Penn in Thursday’s District 1 3A title match at Council Rock South (7 p.m.). Pennridge will face Pennsbury at 5:30 in a third place match for the third and final state berth.
“Pennsbury is a great program with a great coaching staff,” Childs said. “I have a lot of respect for them. We are excited to still have a chance to compete for a spot in the state playoffs.”
#1-6 NORTH PENN 3, #1-2 PENNSBURY 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-22)
The Knights might not have been the choice of many to be playing in Thursday’s District 1 3A final, but for the players, it’s another story entirely.
“For most teams going to playoffs, making a good run like this is definitely a goal,” senior Drew Coles said. “Us, specifically, making it to the district championship and making a run in states was one of our biggest goals going into the season because our team this year is the strongest that it’s been in the last five or six years.
“The seven, eight of us that are starting – we knew that coming into the season. Definitely one of our biggest goals was to make a run to states this year. Coming into the year, we thought it looked good for us.”
The season had its rocky moments. The Knights were 4-5 nine games into the season but have saved their best for last.
“I think the thing that definitely helps is our determination and our drive to want to make a good final impression in our last year at our school,” Coles said. “The last time our volleyball team won our district was back in 2000. We want to put our names up there and be those guys that made that playoff run and had a great year, so it’s definitely one of our strong motivators.”
Several other factors also came into play, according to coach Ryan Genova.
“Isaac Lambert got sick at a certain point during the season, and it took him a little while to recover,” the Knights’ coach said. “He was sort of the missing piece, giving them back their confidence.
“One of our middle hitters, Kevin Abraham, is relatively new to the sport, and over the last couple of weeks, he’s just turned it on, and he’s become a stud. Those two things I think have influenced the rest of the guys to be a lot more confident and a lot more upbeat when they’re competing more so than they were through March and April. I guess you could say they’re peaking.”
In Tuesday’s sweep of the Falcons, the Knights obviously did a lot of things right.
“We came out very hot, very relaxed,” Genova said. “It’s not a team that in March or April smiled a whole lot. They were very introspective, and suddenly, they’re outgoing.
“Their overall demeanor towards each other has really changed. They’re good players. We don’t have a superstar. It’s six guys all playing a crucial role, and when they’re all playing well, they look pretty good. We were waiting for Pennsbury to turn it on because they’re a much better team than I think they played tonight. They seemed subdued.”
The Knights were never seriously threatened in any of the three sets.
“This is some of the best that we have played this season, if not the best,” Genova said. “You could tell in the first set the way things were going, and you always expect a team to rally at some point. They just didn’t.”
“We came out hot,” Michael Wang said. “We talked about doing just that at practice yesterday, and we were able to do that, and it paid off.”
In Tuesday’s sweep, Coles had 27 assists, one kill, one block and four digs. Evan Rothmann led a balanced attack with 12 kills to go along with two blocks and one dig. Michael Wang had eight kills and nine digs, and Lambert added six kills, one block, one assist and four digs. Zach Jayes had four kills, three blocks and nine digs while Abraham had two kills, one ace, one block and 14 digs. Ryan Stewart (three digs) and Jamie Stewart (two digs) contributed defensively.
“There have been constants who have really been trying to get things on the right track,” said Genova, pointing to Coles, Wang and Jayes. “The catalysts have been Isaac Lambert and Kevin Abraham. They have turned it on.
“Evan Rothmann has been another constant, but it’s a little bit of everybody.”
The Knights’ postseason journey began with an opening round 3-1 win on their home court over 11th-seeded William Tennent. Then they were on the road at third-seeded Council Rock North where they eked out a 3-2 win in a grueling battle.
“Being number six and winning that first round home match was definitely a huge motivator and confidence booster for us,” Coles said. “Going in today number six against number two – I think we were a little nervous at the start, and then our confidence just grew and we carried it through the rest of the game.”
Coles credited the team’s preparation for its sweep of the Falcons.
“We came into today with a couple of scouting reports of who their key players were and who to target, and we had a game plan on who we were going to serve, focusing on how we were going to block,” the Knights’ setter said. “Our passers did amazing today, probably had one of the best passing games they’ve had all season.
“I think coming into today’s game with a game plan of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to execute and then following through and being able to execute what we talked about definitely helped drive us, motivate us and build our confidence throughout the match.”
This year’s squad has 13 seniors on its roster, and it’s turned into a most enjoyable journey.
“In the beginning of the year, we were so focused on trying to be the best team possible that we kind of took the fun out of the game in a sense,” Coles said. “These last couple of weeks when it’s hit us and we’re like, ‘We’re actually in playoffs, and we have a chance to make this great run,’ we started to enjoy ourselves again and want to go out there and do our best and play as a team and have fun. That’s definitely been showing the last couple of weeks.”
For the Falcons, Justin Sadley led the way at the net with 10 kills, one dig and two blocks. Sebastian Kloda had seven kills and a dazzling .600 hitting percentage. Jacob Loerch had six kills, one ace, four digs and one block. Setter Andy Delworth had 21 assists to go along with three kills, one assist, four digs and one block. Luke Bucksar had two kills, one ace, three digs and one block. Matt Caissie had three assists and five digs, and Nathan Sadley added one dig.
North Penn will face top-seeded Central Bucks East in Thursday’s District 1 3A title match at Council Rock South (7 p.m.).
“I’m happy they’re in the place they’re in, and I’m happy about why they’re in this position,” Genova said of his squad. “They’re a fun team to watch.
“Like any season, it’s had its ups and downs, and we’ve had those, but they’re doing what they need to be doing.”
Pennsbury will face Pennridge in a battle for third place and the final state berth.
“We have to try and bounce back,” Pennsbury coach Justin Fee said. “North Penn is a really strong team, and they played well. They just outplayed us and deserve all the credit.”
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