Neshaminy & Pennridge earned wins and will meet in Thursday’s District One 3A title game. Photos by Jon Sklut. Check back for galleries of both games.
#1 NESHAMINY 3, # UPPER DUBLIN 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21)
What a difference a year makes.
Last year, almost to the day, the Redskins fell to Upper Dublin 3-1 in a District One 3A semifinal match. On Tuesday night, they exacted a degree of revenge, rolling to a sweep of the Flying Cardinals in a semifinal contest at Bensalem High School.
“We put out a to-do list of what we wanted to accomplish – it was win the SOL National, which we did, earn an automatic bid to states, which we just did tonight, and the next one is win the district, and beyond that going to each round of states and seeing how far we can go,” Neshaminy coach Pat Klingerman said. “It’s a feather in their cap to go undefeated, which is always nice to add to all of those accomplishments.”
For the Redskins, this is their first trip to the district finals since 2014 - Klingerman was a senior on that squad.
There was no mistaking that anything less than a trip to the finals this year would have been a disappointment for the top-seeded ‘Skins, who brought a perfect 19-0 record into the match.
The Redskins will be facing defending district champion Pennridge in Thursday’s district title match at Bensalem (7 p.m.).
“We had high hopes coming into the season,” Klingerman said. “We had four returners from last year’s squad that went to states, and from all the time they put in during the summer and the AAU season in the fall and winter, we had a lot of high hopes.
“We have six senior starters and a sophomore that’s in that mix, so we knew we had the possibility to really compete for the district. You never expect to go undefeated, so it’s always nice to see that.”
The Redskins are not only undefeated, they have not been in a five-set match this season.
“That’s good and bad at the same time,” Klingerman said. “It would be nice to be tested that way, but it’s also nice that we haven’t needed it, so that’s super exciting.
“Just knowing all the time and effort we put in, we definitely expected to be competing for the district title. Of course, Pennridge is going to be there again. Dave (Childs) always does a great job, so it will be another tough battle on Thursday night, but we’re definitely looking forward to it.”
The Redskins used a balanced attack in Tuesday’s sweep with setter Josh Adler (32 assists, 2 digs) spreading the ball around. Contributing at the net were Josh Clendening (10 kills, 2 aces, 4 digs), Ben Clendening (7 kills, 2 blocks), Kieran Edwards (7 kills, 2 blocks), Dan Berzin (6 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks) and Josh Hamilton (6 kills, 4 digs). Also contributing were Michael Sooby (6 digs, 2 aces, 1 assist) and John Nice (1 ace).
According to Klingerman, the match wasn’t nearly as easy as the final score suggests.
"Upper Dublin is a very well-coached team that tested us throughout the match,” the Redskins’ coach said. “We played great tonight, finally getting everyone clicking at the right time.
“Our experience really showed and helped us handle the pressure. We secured a spot in states back-to-back years for the first time in 25 years.”
Thursday’s title match against Pennridge is the first meeting between the two SOL schools this season.
“We have a really tough match against Pennridge on Thursday for the league title,” Klingerman said. “Dave does a great job getting his team ready year in and year out to complete at the highest level in the SOL. They are the reigning champs for a reason, and hopefully we can come out like we did tonight and put the pressure on them."
Upper Dublin (15-5, 13-1 SOL) will battle Council Rock North for the district’s third state berth on Thursday night at Bensalem at 5 p.m.
#2 PENNRIDGE 3, #6 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-20)
The Rams find themselves in an oh-so-familiar spot.
On Thursday night, Pennridge will face top-seeded Neshaminy in the District One 3A title game. It is the program’s ninth appearance in the district final in the last 13 season, their second in the past two. The Rams are the defending district champions, last year rolling to a sweep of Upper Dublin in the title game.
That success, according to Tyler Johnson, doesn’t just happen.
“We work hard every day,” the senior captain said. “We mold together as a group. We’re not just a team. We’re a group of friends. We go out with each other on the weekends. We’re a tight group, and that makes it easier when the games get harder.
“From our first day after tryouts, that was one of our goals – we’ve got to make the finals. It means a lot just because – as seniors – it’s our last year.”
The Rams pretty much controlled Tuesday’s match against the Indians.
“We showed up ready to go,” Johnson said. “They had a good start where we missed a couple of passes. It was 4-0, and we came back and took an eight- or nine-point lead. It was up and down at some parts, but we kept our lead and then just finished the game out.”
With the win, the Rams have punched their ticket to the state tournament.
“That’s super important,” Johnson said. “Especially for the four seniors – we saw what it took last year, and we wanted to get back 
there, so that was one of our goals from the beginning of the season.”
Setter Riley Kodidek once against spread the ball around, handing out 24 assists. He also had five kills and 11 digs. Contributing to a balanced Pennridge attack were Jude Rotondo (9 kills, 7 digs), Tyler Johnson (5 kills, 2 blocks), Nick Smith (5 kills, 2 blocks) and Bryce Ammon (6 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks). Thomas McKinney led the defense with 13 digs to go along with two kills and three blocks. Alex Derk had six digs.
Evident from the stats is the team’s remarkable balance, and it is that balance and depth, according to Pennridge coach Dave Childs, that has been a key to his squad’s success.
“We have a different guy leading in kills every night,” the Rams’ coach said. “Everyone is able to contribute, and Riley (Kodidek) does a great job of keeping everyone involved.
“Our ability to bounce back when they went on a couple of little runs was big. We had a lead, then we would let them come back a bit, but then we were always able to jump back and take it back. It was a team win tonight.”
Pennridge will face top-seeded Neshaminy in Thursday’s District One 3A title match at Bensalem High School at 7 p.m.
“This is always the goal,” Childs said of reaching the title match. “We know it’s hard to get here, so we don’t take it for granted. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. We’re happy to be there. It should be a good game.”
Council Rock North (10-4 SOL) will face Upper Dublin Thursday at Bensalem for the district’s third and final berth in states.
- Log in to post comments
