Pennridge & Upper Dublin were winners in Tuesday’s District 1 3A semifinals and will meet in Thursday’s district title game. Pennridge/Tennent photos courtesy of Jon Sklut, and UD/Haverford photos courtesy of Kadi Schenk. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f111054175
District 1 3A semifinals
#2 PENNRIDGE 3, #6 WILLIAM TENNENT 0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-17)
The Rams eked out a win in an intense opening set and rode the momentum of that win to a sweep of the visiting Panthers.
With the win, the Rams continue their legacy of postseason excellence, earning a berth in the state tournament and advancing to the district final for the 10th time in 14 years. Pennridge will face Upper Dublin in Thursday’s District 1 3A final at Bensalem (7 pm). The Rams swept the regular season series with the Cardinals, winning the first meeting 3-2 and the second 3-0.
Setter Evan Jalosinski had 37 assists and five digs. Jude Rotondo was on the receiving end of many of Jalosinski’s sets, finishing the three-set match with 18 kills to go along with six digs and four aces. Thomas McKinney added eight kills, 10 digs and two blocks while Logan Jalosiinski had six kills and six digs. Bryce Ammon also had six kills and boasted an impressive .500 hitting percentage. Aaron Ladd had three kills. Ty Porter led the Rams defense with 12 digs.
The SOL American Conference champion Rams (10-1 SOL) upped their overall record to 15-3.
William Tennent (14-5, 11-3 SOL) will face top-seeded Haverford in a battle for third place and the district’s final state berth on Thursday at Bensalem at 5 p.m.
#5 UPPER DUBLIN 3, #1 HAVERFORD 1 (28-26, 25-14, 20-25, 25-20)
The Flying Cardinals continue to revel in their underdog role. After earning a mild upset of fourth-seeded Pennsbury in the quarterfinals, the Cardinals stunned the top-seeded Fords on their home court in Tuesday’s district semifinal.
With the win, the Cardinals punched their ticket to the state tournament and also earned a spot in Thursday’s District 1 3A title game against second-seeded Pennridge. The title game is a rematch of the 2021 district title game when the Rams - the tournament’s fourth seed that year - earned a 3-0 win over the Cardinals, who were seeded second.
The Cardinals set the tone for Tuesday’s win in the opening set, earning a hard-fought 28-16 win. They rolled to a win in the second set before the Fords rallied to win the third. UD would not be denied and closed it out with a win in the fourth set.
Setter Cole Brown handed out 51 assists and also had 12 digs and one kill. Three UD players finished with double-digit kills, led by Terrell Turner with 21 kills to go along with nine digs and one block. Gabe Copley added 12 kills and two digs, and Cory Pendleton had 10 kills, one ace and eight digs. Landon Kullmann (7 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs) and Seamus Frayne (4 kills, 5 blocks) also made important contributions at the net.
Domnick Plaku led the Cardinals’ defense with 13 digs to go along with one ace, and Ari Weiner added nine digs.
Haverford will face #6 William Tennent in Thursday’s third place game at Bensalem at 7 p.m.
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