CR North fell to Bishop Shanahan in Thursday’s District One 4A title game. Action photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#3 BISHOP SHANAHAN 3, #1 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23)
They wanted gold but settled for silver.
And while understandably disappointed, the Indians – who suffered their first loss in 22 matches - have the kind of unwavering support that isn’t based on winning gold medals. Their sizable student section - wearing ‘Chirp Squad’ t-shirts on the heels of Tuesday’s Christmas theme - kept the gym rocking from the first serve to the last and were the first to offer consolation when it was over.
Some even joined the team for a post-game photo.
“They mean a lot to us,” senior captain Ashleigh Adams said. “I feel as though they affect other teams almost as much as we do sometimes. They don’t get the appreciation a lot, but we all love it so much. They come to every game, they’re here all the time.”
The top-seeded Indians gave their fans plenty to cheer about, leading for most of the opening set before falling 24-26 and then winning the next, but it was the visiting Eagles eking out wins in the next two to take home the programs sixth district crown in the last seven years. Last year, their streak of five consecutive district crowns – four at the 4A level and one at 3A – was broken when the Eagles fell to Unionville in the title match.
The Indians certainly had their chances – they were in every set, but they could not close them out with the exception of the second set.
“We didn’t play our best, and I think they played really well,” Adams said. “That made it not as close a game as it should have been.
“I feel like any other day, if we kept our serves in and focused on serve receive, we would have at least gone to five sets. It was close, and I personally don’t feel I played as well as I usually do. I just think everyone was easy minded going into it and not thinking about the little things.
“I think our serve receive was worse this game, and that makes a difference for a team because when we’re in system, we’re good, but when we’re out of system, that’s when it gets hard. (Setter) Kate (Logan) has to run all over the place, and it just gets messy. If we could have fixed our unforced errors on serve receive, I think it would have at least gone to five.”
Not a whole lot separated the two squads, and after the Eagles rallied from five down to win the first set. Trailing 14-11 in the second set after a hitting miscue, the Indians went on a 10-1 tear that was capped by an Adams kill down the line that put the Indians on top 21-15. The Eagles pulled to within two (21-19), but an Adams tip for a winner was followed by a Bella Slough block, and Adams closed it out with back-to-back kills.
The set was a direct reversal of the opening set that saw the Indians lead early only to watch the Eagles come back to notch the win.
“It happened both ways,” Rock North coach Mike Adams said. “When you have two teams and both are really good, that’s volleyball.
“It’s two, three, four points and they come back. It’s a momentum game. That’s the way it is, and we knew it. That’s the biggest thing we talked about. I said, ‘There’s a good chance we’ll go four or five (sets).’ And that’s it.”
In the third set, the Indians trailed 22-18, but a Sophie Lentz winner pulled the Indians to within four only to see the Eagles up their lead to five. Back-to-back Eagle miscues were followed by three straight Adams winners to knot the score 23-23, but the Eagles would not be denied, winning the next two points to take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set followed a familiar pattern. The Indians opened up a 15-11 lead only to watch the Eagles knot the score 16-16. The Indians led 20-19 after an Eagle hit sailed out of play, but the Eagles reeled off four straight to go on top 23-20. The Indians twice pulled to within two – the final after an Adams kill (24-22), but the Eagles prevailed.
“It was little adjustments,” coach Adams said. “They played great, and they made great plays. We were a much higher error overall than we normally are, for whatever reason. Some things we usually don’t miss, we were missing. We know where our level is, and we weren’t there tonight.
“That’s all right, that’s why you play, and that’s why you go to a state tournament. We might see them again.”
Adams once again led the Indians, finishing with 30 kills, 15 digs, one block and one assist. Senior setter and captain Kate Logan had 28 assists, five digs and one kill. Junior Ainsley Jordan had six kills, 12 digs and three aces. Sophomore libero Emma McNulty added nine digs, one ace and two assists. Senior Becca Wintjen (four digs, one ace, one assist), Slough (one dig, two blocks), Lentz (one kill, three digs, two aces, three blocks) and Julia Murphy (two digs) also contributed.
“This was hard,” Ashleigh Adams said of the Indians coming up just short. “But I know we still can make it far.”
Council Rock North will host District 3’s third place team – the winner of Saturday’s Wilson/Elizaabethtown match - in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 4A State Tournament.
#5 GARNET VALLEY 3, #7 HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
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