ST. BASIL ACADEMY 3, PENNSBURY 2 (25-18, 26-28, 21-25, 25-15, 15-9)
In what was unquestionably the match of the night, the Falcons fell to St. Basil in five tightly-contested games.
“It was a great match,” coach Tim Paulson said. “The girls fought hard. Basil hit (hard) and served hard. We blocked them in games two and three but couldn’t keep it up. Their serving kept our middles out of the match.”
One person who was very much part of the match was Lauren Pisauro, who finished the night with 13 kills, 12 digs and four blocked shots.
“Lauren Pisauro was amazing,” Paulson said.
Senior libero Amanda Pace also had 12 digs. Setter Paige Misawic had 23 assists and eight digs. Kate Webb also had eight digs.
NORTH PENN 3, QUAKERTOWN 0 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-14)
The Maidens dropped the first set of Monday’s match but rallied to win the next three to stay perfect on the season (5-0 SOL, 8-0 overall).
Senior setter Kendra Allen led the Maidens with 32 assists, six digs, four aces and two kills. Stephanie Elechko had a big night at the net with 13 kills and six blocks to go along with one ace. Isabelle Kerr added seven kills, eight digs and one block while Megan Gallagher had seven kills and two blocks.
The Panthers were led by Sophie Butler with eight kills and three blocks while Anna Mease had seven kills and one ace. Geena Close had 19 assists, four kills and four aces. Meghan Lopez added 10 assists and five kills while Adriana Rodriguez led the defense with 15 digs to go along with two aces. Ava Heckler had six kills, and Lydia O’Neal, three kills and two aces.
Saturday, Sept. 24
UPPER MERION FINISHES SECOND
It was quite a day for the Upper Merion volleyball team on Saturday when the Vikings competed in a tournament at Garnet Valley that included some of the state’s top teams. The Vikings played in three different gyms on four different courts, and their day didn’t end until 9:30 p.m. after playing 17 games.
The championship match was worth the wait as it featured a rematch of last year’s state final against Hempfield. Hempfield once again came out on top, downing the Vikings 23-25, 25-22, 17-15.
Cassidy Koenig had a triple double in the finals with 10 kills, 16 assists and 11 digs. Casey Griffith, the Vikings’ libero, played outside for Melanie Ingram since the team’s top hitter was battling a sore arm. Griffith had six kills and 22 digs.
The finals, according to coach Tony Funsten, were the culmination of an extraordinarily challenging day. In pool play, the Vikings swept Archbishop Wood, Council Rock North and Ridley while splitting with Shanahan. After pool play, which was held at an elementary school, the Vikings traveled to a middle school to face Hatboro in a quarterfinal match. The Vikings won a war with the Hatters (28-26, 24-26, 15-11). The team then walked to Haverford High School to face Pennsbury. The Falcons, who had been waiting for the Vikings, won game one 25-14.
“I reminded the girls that the same thing happened (last year) when we moved to the high school,” Funsten said. “It was like going from playing in a library at the elementary school to a basement at the middle school to Woodstock at the high school.”
The Falcons recovered to win the next two games 25-21 and 15-13, earning a date with Hempfield in the final.
“I really do not know how our players were able to do what they did,” Funsten said. “I do know that I am extremely proud of what they accomplished on Saturday. It is the reason that we have sports, so that the young person’s character can show under the most trying conditions. We were in the pressure cooker and found out a lot about ourselves, just as Hatboro, Pennsbury and a number of teams did.”The loss to Hempfield was the first of the season for the Vikings, who are 10-1-2 in tournament play. In match play, the Vikings remain perfect with a conference mark of 7-0 and an overall record of 9-0.
Souderton finished third in its pool at the Quakertown Tournament with a record of 4-4. The Indians fell to Bayard Rustin and Council Rock North, a pair of teams that advanced to the playoffs, and they won their matches against Central Dauphin and Christopher Dock.
“With two key seniors still sidelined due to injuries, the girls regrouped and were able to stay competitive through the long day of tournament play,” coach Marlena Musselman said.
Leading the Indians on the day were Bekah Ford (10 kills), Alexa Kluka (9 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces), Grace Pinto (6 kills, 3 aces), Hayley Sparks (5 kills, 1 block, 3 aces), Jen Spause (3 kills). Cori Watson had 32 assists while Megan Miller led the defense with 15 digs.
Central Bucks East advanced to the semifinals of the Quakertown Tournament on Saturday where the Patriots fell to eventual champion Central Bucks South. In quarterfinal play, the Patriots defeated Quakertown. Earlier in the day, the Patriots were 4-4 in pool play, winning two of three from both Gwynedd-Mercy and Abington but dropping three games to Liberty.
The Patriots were led by the passing and defense of Madi Staub, who had 40 digs and four blocks, Ilana Bershtein (36 digs), Maddy Lagacey (24 digs) and Courtney Kauffman (nine blocks). Offensive leaders were Courtney Kauffman (42 kills), Rachel Clow (29 kills), Kelsey Arm (21 kills), Haley Wicklum (16 kills) and Caroline Davis (86 assists).
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