Pennridge and Upper Merion were winners in Thursday’s second round District One AAA action.
#1 PENNRIDGE 3, #16 UPPER DUBLIN (25-16, 25-13, 25-19)
It’s a whole new world for the Lady Rams this year.
Last year this time, their volleyball season was little more than a memory after the 20th-seeded Rams were swept by Sun Valley in the first round.
Fast forward to this season, and the Lady Rams are the number one seed in the district, boasting a 16-0 record with a Continental Conference title in their back pocket.
“There’s a target on our back,” coach Zech States said. “Everyone is out to get us. Upper Dublin came in that first game, and they had the intensity, and they wanted it bad.
“It’s up to us to realize we’re a good team, but we have to prove we’re a good team and bring home a ‘W.’”
After a first round bye, the Rams took the court against an upstart Upper Dublin squad and earned the sweep.
“We have a lot to prove,” added senior Meghan Keefe. “In previous years, teams were psyched to win when they played us. Now it’s a lot different.”
Now teams are looking to be the first to derail the streaking Rams.
“It’s exciting, but it’s also nerveracking because there’s high expectations for us from everyone,” senior Lauren Drugotch said. “It makes me get more excited about the game because it’s another game you want to go out there, play your hardest and leave it all out on the court. It gives me more energy to play teams that are excited to play us.”
A key to Thursday’s win and a key to the Rams’ success this season has been their consistent defensive play and also a strong serving game.
“Serving tough is a huge part of the game because getting a team out of system right off the bat automatically makes their offense a lot harder to run,” said Drugotch, who had three aces to go along with four kills and three blocks. “Playing defense – if they return the ball, we have to be able to play the ball and get it back up and run our offense.”
Ana Vitantonio led the Rams’ service game with four aces.
“Our mentality is that it’s better to serve hard and miss it if we have to than give them a real easy one, and they’ll be able to get a kill on us,” Keefe said.
Keefe finished with 23 assists and two blocks. Steph Judkins led the Rams with 11 kills, three blocks and one ace. Kelly Bergen had 11 digs and two aces. Victoria Jones added five kills and one ace, and Ariana Przybylowski had six kills and three blocks.
States was most pleased with his team’s all-around effort.
“We had a slow start to the first game, and we have to overcome that,” he said. “The girls really want this, and they realize it’s a big deal.
“They do what they have to and show the effort out on the court. They’re not going to let a ball hit the court. They’ll do whatever it takes to get that ball up, and it’s good to see that.”
Thursday’s second round match was a snapshot of two programs on the rise. On the other side of the court, the Flying Cardinals – who saw their season end – had made some history of their own after winning their first district match two days earlier on their home court.
“We came a long way,” coach Paul Choi said. “We have put a lot of work in the preseason, and coming into this season, we knew we had a lot of talent. We didn’t want to take it for granted, so we did work as hard as we could.
“It’s an awesome feeling, regardless of this match. I’m a little disappointed how we ended it in three, but we came a long way. We did accomplish a lot of things. I really have to give it up for the girls. They should keep their heads up and their spirits high because they’ve done something no other team in Upper Dublin history has done before until this season, which is awesome, and I’m so proud of them tonight. I couldn’t be more thankful for this team.”
Melanie Phifer led the Cards at the net with six kills and one dig, and Taylor Stek had four kills and five digs. Jenny McAneney had three kills. Setter Bryn Stek had 14 assists, one ace and six digs. Gabbi Johnson had four digs.
Choi bids farewell to five seniors – Taylor Stek, Melanie Phifer, Lauren Pyfer, Kelly Sun and Veronica Lu.
“All of them played a major role in our success – whether it was during the game or during the practices,” he said. “They all played their role, did their part. They did their best to push us to the next level.”
The Flying Cardinals closed out their season with a 15-5 record (10-4 SOL). The Lady Rams will host eighth-seeded Downingtown West in Tuesday’s district quarterfinal match. The Cougars defeated Unionville 3-2.
“In school, people are talking about us, and it’s definitely different than it was in the past,” Drugotch said. “It’s exciting, especially being seniors and having our starting lineup being mostly seniors, it gives us more to look forward to playing in the next game.”
#2 UPPER MERION 3, #15 PENNCREST 0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18)
Emma Andraka, Niki Carpenter and Eryn Brady took care of the offense with 10, 10, and nine kills respectively while Ashley Shannon, Emily Shannon and Emma Andraka keyed the defense with 24, 18 and 14 digs respectively. Carolyn Helenski had block kills, and Kailyn McNamee dished out 19 assists and served six aces.
The victory moves the Lady Vikings into the "Elite 8" for the 12th straight year. UM's next opponent will be Downingtown East, a 3-2 winner over Pennsbury. That match will be played at Upper Merion on Tuesday at 7 pm.
#3 GARNET VALLEY 3, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 (18-25, 25-9, 25-18, 25-16)
The Titans won the first set against a highly regarded Jaguar squad, but Garnet Valley won the next three, bringing an end to the Titans’ season.
“CB South has made improvements in every aspect of their game this year, and I couldn’t be more proud in their effort level and sportsmanship,” coach Ulana Keer said. “Every player has gotten stronger and played with heart.
“I loved how loud the bench was tonight. I have such a great team in every aspect. The loss is important because we are now done, but I wish otherwise.”
Taylor Danilowicz had 10 kills, two blocks, four aces and six digs while Sarah Poli had 11 kills, one block, three aces and eight digs. Setter Erin Cleary had 27 assists, one block, two aces and five digs. Megan Manderson had two kills, three blocks, two aces and one dig. Breanna Jackson added five blocks, two kills.
“I couldn’t be more proud of her improvement this year,” Keer said.
“Briana Bannach had five digs and six passes. Larissa Keer had three aces and eight digs. Meghan Dunn had two blocks and one kills.
#5 BISHOP SHANAHAN 3, #12 HATBORO-HORSHAM 2 (25-15, 23-25, 28-26, 22-25, 15-10)
It was a long night with nail-biting action, but the Lady Hatters fell in five sets to a very tough Bishop Shanahan team in round two of the playoffs.
There were some outstanding performances both offensively and defensively. The offense was shared by senior Sam Jones with 13 kills, senior Alexa Kennedy with nine kills, junior Cassidy Quattro with seven kills, senior Candyce Riley with six kills, and junior Jen Nesbitt with four kills. Riley also dished out 37 assists and served 17 points, which included two aces. Freshman Katerina Yankanich served 17 points with one ace. Sophomore Allison Laucella had an outstanding night, serving three aces and 21 points. Laucella and Jones continued to impress by dominating on defense for the Hatters with 29 and 21 digs respectively. Riley and Senior Rachel DeMarco also contributed 12 digs each. At the net, Jones and senior Dymond Black each had four blocks. Nesbitt added another three.
Although the loss brought an end to the season, the Lady Hatters had a very impressive run of 16 match wins in a row. The Hatters closed out their season with a 12-2 league mark and 22-8-1 overall.
#4 STRATH HAVEN 3, #13 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
The Patriots threw a scare into fourth-seeded Strath Haven before falling in the winner-take-all fifth set 15-13.
“Words cannot describe how proud I am of these girls!” coach Scott Geller said. “We battled all match, and to come down to the last two points in a five-set match shows how much heart and resiliency we have.
“We made adjustments to our defense to pick up the strong attacks of Strath Haven. The adjustments helped Erin Lane (12 digs), Krista Helveston (11digs) and Madie D'angelo (seven digs) put up a big night of digs. They were everywhere.
“Also, from the first time around, our front row presence had improved immensely. Julia Gallagher, Kelly Guillen, Hannah LaMond all put up a big block, forcing Strath Haven to power through or adjust their attack.
“The piece we continued to play well was our serving and distribution of our attacks. One thing I tell them is to keep the other team honest and switch up your attacks, well we did that and it showed.”
Leading the Patriots in kills were Bridget Terrel (16 kills, two aces, six digs), Kelly Guillen (six kills, six blocks), Julia Gallagher (six kills, four blocks), Hannah LaMond (six kills), Natalie Arm (five kills, one ace, four digs). The well-balanced offense was lead by Lauren Helveston who distributed the ball for 34 assists.
“She also had five aces, with a couple key serves coming late in the fifth set,” Geller said. “We took on one of the toughest strengths of schedules this year to prepare for these types of matches, and we will do it again next year. It was a great year for the Patriots and we will miss our seniors greatly!”
#7 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 3, #10 PENNSBURY 2 (25-13, 25-27, 23-25, 27-25, 15-6)
The Falcons gave the Whippets all they could handle, falling in the first game but eking out gutsy wins in the next two. The Whippets won the next two games to earn the win.
Elle Patterson had a team-high kills to go along with seven digs and two aces while Ava Patterson added nine kills. She also had a team-high four aces and also had 16 digs. Brandi Steiner added five kills to go along with six digs.
Dagny Gould led the defense with 21 digs while Kate Foley had 10 digs and three aces.
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