Check out the results for SOL boys’ volleyball teams in action on Friday.
PENNRIDGE 3, QUAKERTOWN 2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 18-25 15-7)
One minute, Quakertown’s players were celebrating. The next, it was the Rams doing the celebrating.
It was that kind of match when the neighboring rivals met on Friday afternoon at Pennridge. The two squads spent four sets exchanging best shots, and coming as no surprise, the match came down to a winner-take-all fifth set.
The Panthers – on the heels of an emotional win in the fourth set to even the match – opened up an early 3-1 lead after a Justin Flor winner. With the Panthers clinging to a 3-2 lead, Jeremy Pruss stepped to the service line for the Rams and immediately delivered a service winner that knotted the score.
A no-doubt-about-it kill by Cross Edwards put the Rams on top by one, and then it was senior captain Josiah Friesen putting the finishing touches on a kill. A service ace – this one just inside the far sideline – put the Rams on top 6-3, prompting Panther coach Andy Snyder to call a quick timeout. Another Cross kill out of the timeout and a Panther net violation gave the Rams an 8-3 lead.
“I don’t think anything changed,” said Quakertown’s Logan Spieker of the momentum swing. “We still tried playing with heart.
“They just picked up their intensity. They started slower, and they just picked it up. I think we played a good game.”
The Panthers would get no closer than three the rest of the way (10-7 after a Spieker kill), and the Rams escaped with the hard fought win.
“We have a lot of heart when we play,” Spieker said. “When we’re down, we always try and keep our heads up. As a team, we try to keep each other intact so we can play to the best of our ability.
“I think losing that first game was big for us because we were very close to them the whole time throughout that and then we just fell apart, but I think if we stay together as a team we can beat them.”
The 6-4 outside hitter finished with 19 kills to lead the Panthers, who were without outside hitter Ben Ocamb.
“He was our primary attack as he has been,” Snyder said of Spieker. “We’re missing an outside hitter, and we’re thin as it is, so he shouldered a lot of the load today. He was a presence at the net and a presence from the serving line.”
The Rams were without middle hitter Kevin Jones, who’s battling the flu.
“He’s a junior captain, a really good player, and we missed him tonight,” coach Dave Childs said. “Matt (McCreary) did a nice job stepping in, but with Kevin, it changes how we play and what we do, so it’s an adjustment. We worked through it and came out with a win.”
The Rams have yet to see all-everything senior Ben Chinnici – who will be sidelined for several more weeks – on the court.
“He hasn’t been with us from the beginning of the season, so we should be used to it,” Childs said. “He’s not part of this right now.
“What we have is what we have. We have good players, but we’re young and inexperienced in some positions so this is a growth process right now. It’s nice to pull out a win when you’re in that. We want to see it progress – that’s the key.”
The Rams won the first set but found themselves staring at a 16-8 hole in the second and still trailed 22-15, but a kill by Edwards made it a 22-20 game. A Friesen service ace out of a Panther timeout made it a 22-21 game. A service fault gave the Panthers a two-point lead. The Rams benefitted from a Panther hitting miscue to pull to within 23-22, but Spieker delivered a winner. Again, the Rams pulled to within one when a tip fell in for a winner. The Panthers closed it out with a Spieker kill to even the match 1-1.
“The second and fourth (sets) we played really, really well,” Snyder said. “We got a lead in both of those, and we played well with the lead. We’ve also shown we can come back from deficits.
“Last week at LC, we were down 14-3, and we came back. We were down early in the second set, and we came back. These guys don’t get completely out of it when we’re down, and yet when we’re on top, they don’t lose their cool either and lose focus. They stayed focused throughout the match.”
In the third set, The Rams opened up a quick 7-1 lead, but the Panthers didn’t go away, pulling to within four (15-11) after a Pennridge hit sailed out of play. The Rams went on to open up a 22-15 lead after a Mike Molettiere kill and closed out the set on an Edwards kill to go up 2-1.
The Panthers opened up a quick 6-1 lead in the fourth set, but the Rams made it a one-point game after a Friesen ace (7-6). The Panthers still led 16-13 after a Flor kill. The Rams pulled to within one (16-15), but the Panthers outscored their hosts 9-3 the rest of the way to earn the win, evening the match 2-2.
The Rams missed several serves down the stretch, but according to Friesen, that’s a part of the game.
“It does affect the momentum a little bit, but we’ve always been a tough serving team,” the Rams’ senior captain said. “That’s one thing Pennridge is known for. We’re going to miss serves, but we’ve got to side out right away.”
Edwards had a huge day for the Rams, finishing with 21 kills, 15 digs and five aces. Friesen added 14 kills, three blocks, nine digs and five aces. Zach Detweiler and Mike Molettiere both had 10 kills. Detweiler also had five blocks.
“I think Zach played well today,” Childs said. “We need to get him swings because he puts the ball away almost every time.
“In the second and third, he was putting the ball away almost every time. We just couldn’t get him swings out of the middle. We have to pass a little bit better.”
Setter Corey Quaste had 52 assists and six digs in the marathon match. McCreary had two kills and two blocks. Harrison Zeitler had 15 digs, Pruss had 11 and Danny Rutter had eight.
In addition to Spieker’s 19 kills, Flor added 10 kills, one block and eight digs for the Panthers. Josh Moyer had eight kills, one block, two aces and 11 digs. Setter Drew Stout had 24 assists and 11 digs. Graham Wilson had three kills, and Zac Mahler added five digs and two aces.
“They have some really good hitters,” Friesen said. “We had times where we weren’t playing as good as we should, and they were doing good and vice versa.”
Pennridge (2-0) and Quakertown (2-1) both will travel to Northeastern High School Saturday to compete in the prestigious Bobcat Invitational, which features 40 teams.
“It will be a big test this weekend when we go out to Bobcat to see how we match up with some other big teams out there,” Snyder said. “I don’t know the last time we played Pennridge that hard, especially on their court.
“I’m very proud of the guys and the way they played.”
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22)
Patriot setter Mason Miller directed a diverse offense, dishing out 26 assists. Carter Haban racked up 13 kills, three digs, two blocks and an ace, and Dylan Colbert led the attack with 20 kills to go along with five digs. Leading East’s defense was Liam Creeden with seven digs. He also had two assists.
For the Titans, team leaders included setter Mark Macios (two kills, eight blocks, 19 assists and five digs), middle Justin Koren (six aces, 11 kills, three blocks, 10 digs) and opposite Jack Hertkorn (two kills, 5 blocks). Sophomore Jon Zonshein came in late and had two aces and an assist.
“Late in game four with the lead and working to push the match to the fifth set, our two senior captains collided, forcing them both out of the match to be evaluated for several plays,” South coach Matt Ehlers said. “Our bench players subbed in and played well before our starters returned. However, we lost momentum and the match.”
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, GEORGE WASHINGTON 1 (18-25, 28-26, 25-9, 25-17)
The Indians got off to a slow start, dropping the first set and eking out a win in the second. They seized control in the third set and rolled to the win.
Harry Wyatt led the Indians with 14 kills, three aces and two digs. Jack Gunshenan added seven kills, two digs and two aces, and Sean Helminger had six kills, five aces and one block. Setter Nick Baniewicz had 28 assists, two digs, one kill and one ace. Alex Borman contributed nine digs and two aces.
Also contributing for the Indians were Brady Haggerty (three kills, two digs, one block), Will Hewitt (three kills, one block, one dig), Ed Mancinelli (three digs, one ace), Kevin D’Arcy (one kill), Justin Walton (one kill) and Grant Shieh (one dig).
Council Rock North (2-1) will travel to Northeastern to compete in the Bobcat Invitational.
AVON GROVE 3, NORTH PENN 0
Bobby Dean led the Knights in Friday’s non-league match with 11 kills, one ace and three digs while Hayden Rhodes added nine kills, four digs and one block. Setter Drew Coles had 22 assists, one ace and three digs. Manan Patel contributed nine digs and one ace.
LA SALLE 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0 (25-22, 25-14, 27-25)
In the Golden Hawks non-league contest, Dane Paulson led the defense with 12 digs to go along with two kills and five blocks. Jack Geiger added four kills and two blocks. Andrew Richards had four kills, one ace, six digs and two blocks. Shane Slivinski added five kills, eight digs and one block.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, SOUDERTON 2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-16 16-14)
In their home opener, the Indians won the first sets but dropped the next two, setting up a fifth and deciding set that was tightly contested until the final point.
"The fifth set was a game of runs, and we were not able to come up with the win," Souderton coach Dave Stastny said. "We played well. Give credit to West for their play - they're a strong team."
For the Indians, Ben Campman led the attack with 15 kills and also had 10 digs. Mike Pagan added 14 kills and four digs. Setter Luke Pagan had 35 assists. Aaron Moyer led the defense with 14 digs.
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