Upper Dublin was the lone SOL survivor in Tuesday’s opening round of the District One Tournament that saw seven teams in action. Check back for a gallery of photos of the Upper Dublin/Central Bucks South contest...CLICK HERE.
#11 UPPER DUBLIN 3, #22 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21)
The Flying Cardinals won a hard-fought battle in four sets in Tuesday’s opener against the Titans.
“It can be ugly, it can be a roller coaster, but just getting the win in itself is a big accomplishment in our season,” UD coach Paul Choi said. “This was a tough season, to say the least.
“In our conference, we have PW and Hatboro, who are extremely strong, and we had the loss to Abington – it wasn’t a total shock because I never counted Abington out because they have such a big front row. They put us in a lot of trouble.
“We had a lot of losses , but it made us learn and it made us fight for every win because it showed we could lose so we had to fight for everything this season.”
Last season, the Cardinals were co-champions of the American Conference with Upper Merion. This year they finished third behind PW and Hatboro-Horsham.
“Every year is different – your personnel, your opponents,” Choi said. “We lost a lot last year, so we knew we would have to rebuild and have to fill in the gaps, so we knew it was going to be a tough season this year, but we’re making everything work with what we have.
“We’re finding our strengths, and we’re trying to make our strengths show a little bit more, and our weaknesses we’re trying to hide as much as we can. It’s been a roller coaster ride, but it’s definitely been fun.”
Leading the Cardinals in Tuesday’s win were veterans Jenny McAneney (13 kills, 20 digs, one ace, two blocks), Bryn Steck (40 assists, 19 digs, three kills, one blocks), Josie Barrett (23 digs) and Maggie Weglos (19 kills, 15 digs, four aces, one block).
“I have my returning players that know what the atmosphere is like, especially in the first round,” Choi said. “Senior Jenny McAneney is my senior captain, and my co-captain is junior setter Bryn Steck.
“My libero is senior Josie Barrett, and she’s been stepping up a lot. My second outside hitter, junior Maggie Weglos, stepped up a lot this year. She took on a new role as an outside hitter, and she’s fitting in pretty nicely. She’s progressed throughout the season. She’s loving her role, and she’s a big contributor on our team.”
Also contributing for the Cardinals were Jackie McMenamin (three aces, one assist, 12 digs) and Layne Morgan (six kills, five blocks, one assist, one dig).
For the Titans, Megan Manderson had a big night with 20 kills, 20 digs and six aces while senior libero Morgan McCrory had 34 digs and two kills. |
“Megan Manderson had a huge night for us and racked up 20 kills,” South coach Kurt Godfrey said. “This matches her season high and I know how much this match meant to her and all our other seniors. Morgan McCrory was our backbone tonight, as usual, and she dominated our defensive effort all night long. She will certainly wake up with some bruises tomorrow morning from diving all around.”
Junior outside hitter Alyssa Dallmer (seven kills, 13 digs) and junior opposite Isabel Miller (three aces, five kills, 19 digs) also came up big at the net. Junior setter Kelly Danyluck had 36 assists and 10 digs while middle hitters Julia Dennis (five kills, three blocks, eight digs) and senior Sydney Hauser (three kills, one block) also contributed.
“Our juniors had a great night for us too and it leaves us really excited,” Godfrey said. “We have some amazing talent coming back and our juniors are already excited to see what they are made of for next season. Alyssa Dallmer had a nice night at the net and on defense for us. Julia and Isabel chipped in with five kills each and added a few aces and digs to go along with their kills. We didn't get the ‘W’ tonight but we played relatively well. We made some big mistakes but we rallied out of some big holes as well. We will take all the progress we've made this season and build on it for next year.
"These girls fought for every point, not just tonight, but for every single point this season. I couldn't be prouder of them. Tonight was a battle and I don't know if I have ever been involved in a match with such long rallies. The scores were close but the games were even closer than the scores showed. Upper Dublin is a good team with a great coach and I wish them the best for the rest of their season.”
Upper Dublin will travel to Council Rock North Thursday for a match against the sixth-seeded Indians. Central Bucks South closed out its season with an 12-8 record overall (11-7 SOL).
“We spent the season in the trenches together as a team,” Godfrey said. “We fought through some tough predicaments, experienced some amazing wins, weathered some crappy losses and were always there for each other. These seniors will hold a special spot in my heart.
“We traveled from JV to Varsity together when I took over as head coach and they have been a part of some great memories along the way. We will miss all of them next season."
#17 SPRING-FORD 3, #16 SOUDERTON 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-16)
The Indians lost a hard-fought battle with the visiting Rams. Setter Lauren Hamilton had 18 assists while Talia Watson had 15 digs and two aces. Tori Reiner (eight kills, four blocks) led the Indians at the net. Miranda Baronett add five kills and 14 digs while Haley Novak had six kills and two aces. Maria Iervolino had two kills and Bella Mazzeo added a pair of aces.
Souderton closed out its season with a 13-8 record.
#19 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 3, #14 PENNSBURY 1 (25-17, 14-25, 25-15, 27-25)
#21 METHACTON 3, #12 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17)
#10 UPPER MERION 3, #23 ABINGTON 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-21)
The Ghosts saw their season end at the hands of a former SOL rival in Tuesday's opening round. Setter Anna Bantner had 21 assists. Also making important contributions were Grace Whitney (four kills, five blocks, four digs), Hannah Dalton (nine kills, two blocks, two digs, two assists), Kaylee Goodson (two kills, five digs), Kaley Ehnow (eight kills, four blocks, four digs, one ace) and Fabi Gonzalez (five digs, one ace).
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