Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Hempfield in an opening round state playoff game while CR North saw its season come to an end. Photos of the PW/Hempfield match provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of action shots of the match.
#1-2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, #3-2 HEMPFIELD 0 (25-23, 25-20, 27-25)
The Colonials keep making history, capturing their program’s first state tournament win since the early 80s. Making the accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that they did it with a sweep of a perennial power.
“I know Hempfield very well, and they have a very strong volleyball culture,” coach Seely Byler said. “They’ve won very recent state championships, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect tonight, so I’m really happy – the kids just outlasted them.
“This is what they’ve been doing all year. We had to fight through districts, so I think that was good preparation coming to states so they could see nothing was going to come easy.
“They came into this match not having rolled over every single team in districts, so they could be prepared coming into a tough match against a team like Hempfield.”
For those who were worried how the Colonials would respond after suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of Bishop Shanahan in Saturday’s district final, they needn’t have worried.
“The girls were hungry for the win tonight,” Byler said. “They didn’t want to feel how they felt on Saturday, knowing they were close.
“They didn’t want to drop something they’d worked so hard for all season.”
There were several keys to the match. None bigger than the play of middles Lauren Coscia and Taylor O’Brien.
“Hempfield had some really strong hitters who played very, very consistently, and our middle blockers played so well tonight,” Byler said. “They just got touches on almost every swing, so it allowed our defense to really play strong because they slowed it down a little bit, so we had really clean passes going into our offense.”
The stats show O’Brien with six kills and two blocks and Coscia with seven kills and two blocks, but that doesn’t tell the story of the touches they got on Hempfield’s swings at the net.
The Colonials’ resiliency and will to win was never more apparent than in the third set, battling back from a 24-21 deficit to earn a 27-25 win for the sweep.
Playing a key role in the Colonials’ comeback in the final set was junior Emilee Waltz, who delivered a pair of service aces.
“That really gave us a big lift, and then they had a hitting error,” Byler said. “Having a kid like that who’s been a role player and being that mentally strong when it’s that tight of a game to run two aces – it was awesome to watch her do that.”
Waltz also had 14 digs. Bridget McTamney and Olivia Carbo led the defense with 18 digs each while Danielle Rippert had 14 and Samantha Ward added 11. Carbo also had a pair of aces and 19 assists.
Lily Acquaviva led the Colonials at the net with 15 kills while Rippert had 12.
The success of this year’s squad is significant not only for the players who are part of the Colonials’ magical season but also the future of the program.
“This is really what I want for our community - just really bringing volleyball to the forefront because Colonial is known for some really strong other sports like field hockey, soccer, basketball,” Byler said. “Getting the younger players watching our games through districts and now in states and getting to see the varsity players succeeding, it’s just going to build momentum and allow our program to build.
“Not just from the ninth grade up – we’re going to see these younger players wanting to play club, wanting to play CYO and really getting those years of experience at a younger age. Any program that really gets success year after year – you have to have those younger players buy into the sport at an earlier age. That’s the only way you can do it these days.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh will face District 11 champion Parkland in a second round match on Saturday.
#11-1 PARKLAND 3, #1-3 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21)
The Indians didn’t go down without a battle against the defending state champions.
“(We) lost to Parkland in a very competitive match,” coach Mike Adams said. “It was tons of fun, and I’m proud of our seniors for being leaders on and off the court.”
Senior Morgan Collito led the Indians with 10 kills, one ace, 11 digs and one block. Junior middle blocker Mackenzie Tinner added five kills and three blocks. Setters Johanna Batterton and Sarah Caola both had nine assists. They also combined for 10 digs.
Birdie Ligos had three kills and seven digs. Maddy Moore led the defense with 17 digs.
Council Rock North closed out its season with a 24-3 record.
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