Pennsbury edged Central Bucks West in five sets in an intense battled for fifth place in the District 1 6A Tournament. Photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.
#2 PENNSBURY 3, #4 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 (25-13, 23-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-13)
It was a match for seeding purposes only, a match when some teams – many actually – are inclined to simply go through the motions, hoping only to avoid an injury.
Apparently, Pennsbury and Central Bucks West never got the memo that the outcome of Thursday’s fifth place match really wasn’t all that important, and they put on a spirited display of volleyball that delighted fans from both sides.
In the end, Pennsbury won the five-set thriller, but on this night, the outcome took a back seat to the effort by both sides.
The Bucks won the opening set by a decisive margin and still led 2-1 after a 25-19 win in the third set only to see the Falcons respond with a 25-16 win in the fourth, setting up a fifth and deciding set that was every bit as tightly contested as the match itself before the Falcons escaped with the two-point win and the match.
Madara Bungs and Reagan Perate were a dangerous one-two punch at the net for the Falcons, combining for 35 kills while West’s Kya Lynch was busy doing her thing at the net, finishing with 26 kills and five blocks.
Setters Katie Mishler and Olivia Jedynak combined for 48 assists for the Falcons with each contributing 24. Senior Emma Shank handed out 29 assists for the Bucks.
Leading the Falcons defensively were Emma Chung (16 digs), Bungs (11 digs), Jedynak (10 digs) and Perate (7 digs). For the Bucks, Ashlyn Kear (11 digs), Ella Rafalowski (9 digs), Lynch (8 digs), Charley Brexler (7 digs) and Bryn Campbell (5 digs) led the defense.
Rafalowski led the Bucks’ service game with seven aces while Chung (5 aces), Jedynak (4 aces) and Nadia Tilapa (3 aces) led the Falcons, who had 17 service aces.
By the numbers: Pennsbury: Reagan Perate (15 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces, ), Madara Bungs (20 kills, 11 digs), Katie Mishler (24 assists, 2 aces), Nadia Tilapa (3 aces), Emma Chung (16 digs, 5 aces), Olivia Jedynak (3 kills, 14 assists, 10 digs, 4 aces).
Central Bucks West: Kya Lynch (26 kills, 5 blocks, 3 assists, 8 digs), Katina Adelizzi (6 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Ella Rafalowski (7 aces, 9 digs), Farrah Nehrbas (1 kill, 3 blocks), Emma Shank (1 kill, 1 block, 4 digs, 1 ace, 29 assists), Bryn Campbell (2 kills, 5 digs), Charley Brexler (2 aces, 7 digs).
Up next: Pennsbury will face District 12 champion Central High in Wednesday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A State Tournament. Central Bucks West will face District 3 champion Hempfield in Wednesday’s opening round.
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