It was a good night for several Suburban One League schools on Tuesday when the District One AAA Tournament got underway. Four were sent home for the season.
Souderton 3, Kennett 1 (20-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-21)
Souderton, the tournament’s 20th seed, upset 13th seeded Kennett in four games. It is the first district win for the Indians in recent memory.
“It was a good win for us,” coach Brad Garrett said. “Our girls played the best defense they played all year. They really had a lot of desire and heart, and they weren’t afraid to hit the floor.
“They did a good job of frustrating their attack by bringing up the ball.”
Another key, according to the first-year coach, was the Indians’ serving game.
“We served tough,” Garrett said. “We kept them off balance, and they never got in sync offensively. They weren’t passing well because of our good serving.
“We did miss a few serves. We have to clear that up before we play Bishop Shanahan, but all-in-all, it was our best serving night, our best defensive night. The girls stepped up in a big game. Everybody probably played their best game of the year. It’s a good time to be peaking.”
Senior Devon Sparks led the Indians with 17 kills in a huge performance at the net.
“She had a very, very good match,” Garrett said. “She played well all the way around.”
Jess Coll added 12 kills. Amy Brown led the serving game with six aces. Sophomore libero Brianna McMichael led the defense with 20 digs. Senior setter Sam Terrell had 38 assists and four aces.
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Perkiomen Valley 0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-19)
Riding the wave of their big win over top-seeded Upper Merion in the SOL Tournament, the Hatters made easy business of 26th seeded Perkiomen Valley in an opening round match that belonged to the Hatters from start to finish.
“We have been working on team goals that can increase our level of play and challenge ourselves,” coach Diane Lucas said. “I wrote down all the successful things we accomplished in today’s match.
“Our team serving was very successful. We have been working on moving our feet to cover the tips and short shots, and the girls did a very good job of doing that. In fact, we even got plays off of it. Instead of just sending it back over the net, we were able to be aggressive and challenge ourselves to get offense off of those balls.”
Sophomore Julie Harvey had a team-high 10 kills. Ashley Morgan had seven kills and eight digs. Senior Bonnie Harvey was a force in the middle, collecting 10 blocks. Julia Simonson had seven kills and four aces. Kristy Riley led the defense with 10 digs. Sara Dougherty had nine digs, and Megan Himler had five. Lauren Schmickle had 34 assists. Steph Starliper had four kills and three assists while Lizzie Myers had a pair of aces.
The seventh-seeded Hatters were just one spot away from receiving a bye. They didn’t mind a bit.
“We’re actually glad we didn’t have a bye,” Dougherty said. “We wanted to get in there and play.
“Overall, we had a lot of fun today. No one ever got down at any point in the game, and when you’re having fun, you play better.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3, Central Bucks East 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20)
In a battle of the tournament’s 16th and 17th seeds, PW downed the Continental Conference tri-champion Patriots in three games.
“We’re peaking at the right time - to be in districts and to be playing as well as we are right now,” PW coach David Stewart said. “A lot of our younger players are learning a lot, and a lot of what they’ve learned over the course of the season is showing up in the way they’ve been playing the last couple of games.
“It is nice to have younger kids who are oblivious to some of the pressure, but I think they’re all very aware of what’s at stake, and they’re going out and playing as hard as they can.”
Super soph Devon Maugle led the Colonials with 16 kills and 15 digs in a superb all-around effort.
“She’s just fantastic,” Stewart said. “There’s just not enough ways to really put into perspective what she means to our team.”
Junior Kathrine Keefer added five kills and six blocks. Sophomore Alex Griffin had five kills.
For East, it was a disappointing end to a memorable season.
“I was proud of the way they played, I was proud of our good season,” coach Eric Headley said. “Sometimes you play a team that plays a little harder, and sometimes you just get beat by a better team.
“They were close games with a ton of good rallies. They’re a good team.”
The Patriots got a big performance from Marie Madden.
“She swung and swung hard,” Headley said. “But we didn’t pass well, and as a result, we couldn’t set well.”
Pennsbury 3, St. Basil 0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25)
Pennsbury needed just three games to send St. Basil’s packing for the season. In game one, the Falcons sprinted to a 19-9 lead, and in game two, they opened up an 18-11 lead, but they never led by more than five in game three.
“St. Basil fought hard, but we never trailed in any of the games” coach Tim Paulson said. “They’re a quality team with some very talented players, and we were up and down, but our girls showed a lot of grit and determination to never give up the lead.
“Our middies – Shelby Aleksejczyk and Gillian DeSantis – played great. “
Kaitlyn Wylie, who struggled with an injured leg, played in games one and two but reluctantly took a seat on the bench for game three. Junior varsity setter – sophomore Juliana Slaven – set the third game.
“She performed well in a tough third game and helped us to the win with 12 assists,” Paulson said.
Aleksejczyk and DeSantis led a balanced Falcon attack with nine kills each. Brittany Bigos had eight kills and Drew Jolly, seven. Bigos also had a team-high 16 digs while Stacey Wooden had 10, and Eve Pellitteri, seven digs. Wylie had 18 assists for the Falcons.
Council Rock North 3, Upper Dublin 0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-10)
Council Rock North used a balanced attack to defeat Upper Dublin in a battle of the tournament’s 10th and 23rd seeded squads. Atasha Jordan led the Indians’ attack with 10 kills while Lindsay Palm had seven and Rachel Friedman, five kills. Christina Dollings led the defense with 21 digs.
Council Rock South 3, West Chester Henderson 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-18)
Rock South received a big performance from Anna Buonomo, whose 13 kills and seven digs led the Golden Hawks. Melissa Miguelez added seven kills and four blocks. Chelsea Allen had seven serving aces and three blocks while Carrie Allen had 25 assists and six digs.
"The girls played well and served tough throughout the match," coach Scott Hibbs said.
Rock South travels to Haverford for a second round matchup on Thursday night.
Ridley 3, Quakertown 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20)
Nicole Burke led the Panthers with 10 kills and 12 digs. Teammate Sam Cowan had eight kills and three blocks. Vanessa Rodriguez led the defense with 11 digs.
"We played well as a team, and we had the lead in all three games, but we couldn't hold on to it," coach Wendy Maher said. "We knew we needed to stay strong throughout the whole match, but we were unable to do that.
"I am very proud of the team this season. They accomplished a great deal."
Penncrest 3, Abington 2 (25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11)
Abington came oh so close to pulling off a major opening round upset, but the 22nd seeded Ghosts, who took a 2-1 lead, could not finish it out.
"For whatever reason, we could not put them away," coach Dan Marsh said. "We were up 19-17 in game four and made a few mistakes, which ended up being a big momentum swing.
"However, all in all, this was a great and historical season for the Abington girls' volleyball team."
The squad set a school record for most wins with 10, and it is the first time ever that the Ghosts qualified for district playoffs.
Kelly Gregorio had 16 digs, five kills and three aces. Liz Layton had four blocks and six kills. Jen Kelly had 12 digs and two aces for the Ghosts.
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