Council Rock North 3, Neshaminy 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19)
The Indians needed five games to down the Redskins earlier this season, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 win in a tightly-contested match. They made sure there would be no reruns when the two teams faced each other in a rematch on Monday night with a National Conference crown at stake. The Indians celebrated Senior Night with a convincing 3-0 win, clinching their first conference crown in over a decade and their first since the school split.
“Neshaminy stayed in there and didn’t give up,” Rock North coach Susan Kim said. “It was definitely a tough match, but I think our team was maybe thinking about our first match against them, and they were just ready to come out and play.
“Tonight was Senior Night, and all the seniors were playing. You kind of have to trust your players because they were so pumped to play, but the one thing we did well was just not giving up and just finishing each play and each point. There were times we fell into a little rut, but coming back and staying on top of things was the biggest thing, and they definitely didn’t give up.”
Senior Hunter Stevens had a big night at the net for the Indians, contributing 15 kills and five blocks. Senior Ryan Garven also had a big night, contributing 12 kills to go along with 14 digs.
“Hunter was our go-to person tonight,” Kim said. “As much as we like to spread the ball around, tonight we needed him, so they were able to count on him and Ryan a lot.”
Senior John Whitman had 25 assists, eight digs and two blocks, and junior Dan Ford had 11 assists, four kills, seven digs and three blocks. Chris Richards added 11 digs.
Winning a conference crown was the first goal the Indians established heading into the season.
“Our next goal is winning districts,” Kim said. “We got to see Pennridge on Saturday (in the finals of the Dallastown Tournament), and we didn’t have enough to beat them, but losing is always a good learning experience for us as well.
“Every challenge we’ve faced so far – after beating Neshaminy in five the first time, tonight’s goal was to beat them in three. Each time we go out there, we have high expectations for ourselves.”
The Indians will enter the district tournament as one of the top seeds.
“Coming into the program, one of the first things we talked about was coming in fourth in the district last year and just missing a spot in states,” Kim said. “Knowing how much depth we have on the team this year – each step of the way was kind of making a check list.
“Doing well in tournament and then doing well in the regular season – we’re just looking forward to continuing on. We’re definitely not finished yet.”
The district seeding meeting will be held on Wednesday night with the tournament scheduled to begin next Tuesday.
Souderton 3, North Penn 2 (25-20, 25-18, 25-27, 17-25, 15-13)
With second place in the Continental Conference riding on the line, North Penn and Souderton put on a spirited display of volleyball. The Indians won the first two games only to watch the Knights – who celebrated Senior Night – come back to win the next two, setting the stage for an exciting winner-take-all fifth game.
“I think this was probably our biggest (match) of the season,” Souderton senior Trevor Bishop said. “We came out and won the first two, and they got the two back.
“We just needed to keep our composure in the fifth game. We didn’t want to put our heads down, and we didn’t want to give them an early lead because it’s only to 15, and we experienced before that if you give away points early, you won’t be able to come back.”
North Penn senior Evan Thompson spotted the Knights a quick 2-0 lead in game five when he delivered a kill and followed that with a block. Bishop – who had a monster fifth game and led all players at the net with 21 kills – answered with a kill, and that was followed by a Knight hit out of play. Back-to-back kills by Bishop put the Indians on top 4-2. Andy Willits answered with a kill for the Knights, and a Souderton hitting miscue knotted the score.
A line kill from Bishop was followed by a Jake Sisko kill for the Knights. Another Bishop kill and then a Knight passing error put the Indians on top 7-5. Chris Davidson – who led the Knights with 18 kills to go along with 14 digs – delivered back-to-back kills to knot the score. A kill by Souderton’s Chris Kluka in the middle put the Indians on top by one, and a Knight passing error made it a 9-7 game. When the Indians went on top 10-7, the Knights called a quick timeout. They pulled to within one (11-10) after another Willits kill and knotted the score 12-12 after a Souderton hitting error.
After an Indian timeout, Bishop delivered back-to-back kills. Thompson made it a 14-13 game with a kill for the Knights, but Bishop put the finishing touches on a big night with a kill for match point.
“It was point for point up until the end,” North Penn junior Matt Elias said. “It’s a shame it had to end with a Souderton win.
“It was an emotional game. It was our Senior Night, and we wanted to go out and get a win for our seniors. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that. The fact that it was Senior Night, the fact that it was for second place, and the fact that it was against Souderton – it was a high emotion game.”
Elias finished the night with 43 assists, five blocks and 15 digs. Thompson had seven blocks in the middle, and Willits had 13 kills.
In addition to his 21 kills, Bishop also had 11 digs. Cody Leatherman had a big all-around performance, contributing 14 kills, seven digs, three aces and two blocks. Christian Benner led the defense with 33 digs.
“We knew from the get-go that this was the most important game we had left, even though we have West, and that’s a very important game,” Benner said. “We knew this is the team we’re going against for that second seed (from the Continental Conference), and we needed to come out sharp and do our best.”
While the Indians improved to 12-3, the Knights fell to 11-4 in league play.
Cheltenham 3, Central Bucks South 0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-17)
The Panthers used a five-point service run to take an early 11-5 advantage in game one of Monday’s match. Led by the hitting of senior Jordan Blackwell and freshman Brett Mayne, the Panthers received kills from six different players in earning a 25-18 win in game one.
In game two, freshman middle blocker Ben Doyle delivered a pair of aces during a nine-point service run that gave the Panthers a commanding 15-2 lead as they coasted to the decisive 25-9 win.
After trailing early in the third game, senior setter Geoff Harris – according to coach Chris Manser - used a float serve to keep the Titans off balance and propel the Panthers to a 16-12 lead. They never looked back.
Blackwell led the Panthers at the net with 13 kills. Mayne added seven kills, four aces and 10 digs. Harris had 26 assists to go along with three aces and eight digs. Giuliano Solger led the defense with 16 digs.
Central Bucks West 3, Upper Dublin 1 (25-16, 25-19, 24-26, 25-14)
Senior Colin Baxter led the Bucks with 15 kills while sophomore Mike Fehrs added 12 kills. Fehrs also dominated from the service line where he delivered 10 aces. Christian Rupert added eight kills and five blocks. Senior libero Scott Finch had 12 digs while setter Zach Mineroff had 24 assists.
"CB West served the ball well, and we struggled most of the match with getting out of serve receive, which led to us playing from behind," Upper Dublin coach Matt Ehlers said. "After staying close at the start of the first game, CB West rattled off seven straight points to take a 16-7 lead, and we never recovered from that.
"In the second game, we began to improve but still gave up runs of points which kept us playing catch-up on the scoreboard throughout the game. In the third game, we began to serve more effectively for points and were able to fight for a win in overtime. CB West controlled the fourth game with serve."
Seniors Curtis Carter and Jordan Walden led the Flying Cardinals with six service points. Carter also had one ace. Junior Brian Day also contributed five points service points and two aces. Setter Dave An was credited with 25 assists. Outside hitter Dror Bareket led the team with 12 kills, and Walden and Carter had 11 and 10 blocks respectively. Carter led the way with six blocks, and Day contributed two. Senior libero Jon Lee led the defense with 14 digs.
Quakertown 3, Central Bucks East 1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18)
Ian Jones led a balanced Panther attack at the net with 13 kills. Spencer Gysi and Zach Morgan both added 12 kills. Gysi also had five blocks and two aces. Morgan had three aces. Setter Nate Stout was credited with 39 assists and two aces.
East’s attack was led by Anthony Cupo with 14 kills and five digs. Nick Bennett contributed 10 kills, 10 digs and four blocks. Setter Kyle Dolf collected 31 assists to go along with three aces and three blocks.
Pennsbury 3, William Tennent 0 (25-19, 31-29, 25-20)
The Panthers played the Falcons tough on their own Senior Night on Monday, but it wasn’t enough as the Falcons prevailed in three straight games.
Logan Cloak led the Panthers with 12 kills while Conor Hilpl had three blocks, and Zac Puglisi had seven digs.
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