Hatboro-Horsham made history with their win over district and SOL powerhouse Upper Merion. Check out the results for SOL girls’ volleyball on Tuesday.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, UPPER MERION 2 (30-28, 22-25, 25-15, 26-28, 23-21)
The Hatters won an epic battle with seven-time defending American Conference champion Upper Merion on the Vikings’ home court.
It was reason to celebrate. The win halted the Vikings' remarkable 107-game winning streak in SOL play.
“Ever since our freshman year, we came into this game knowing Upper Merion was the rival,” senior Candyce Riley said. “Our sophomore and our junior year we’ve been working at it, and finally our senior year – it was so exciting to finally beat them.”
“We always knew we could do it,” senior Sam Jones aid. “It was just a matter if everyone showed up and if everyone had the same goal in mind and the same mentality. A lot of times a few people will be on fire in a game, and everyone else will just be there.
“This game everyone showed up, everyone had the same goal, and everyone had to play their best volleyball, and we left it all out on the court. That’s all I could ask for as a teammate. I’m so proud of our team.”
The match point that ensured their dream would became a reality will live in their memories for a lifetime.
“Candyce dug a ball, our libero, Allison Laucella, set me, and then I went up for the swing,” Jones said. “It hit off the block, and the defender shanked it.
“We all dog piled in the middle of the court, everyone in the bench came in. Some of us were crying. We were so excited.”
In a gesture of remarkable sportsmanship, coach Tony Funsten was the first person to send a congratulatory text to coach Kathy Tanner.
“My girls worked hard, and he recognized that,” the Hatters’ coach said. “I really appreciated the fact that he sent that.
“It’s just all good fun competition, and I think it’s even better when you respect each other. I give him all the credit in the world. He’s a great winner, and he’s a gracious loser. He was the first person to reach out to me.”
Funsten tipped his hat to the Hatters.
"Hatboro certainly earned it," he said. "They were fabulous. We staved off seven match points before losing. We did not play our best, but we played our hardest and never gave in. The Superfans were great throughout the match."
The match was a classic battle between two squads refusing to lose.
“The scores tell the story,” Tanner said. “That’s what I love – the fact that the scores were so tight, but my girls refused to give up.
“We had a rough start this year. We had some games that were close, and we wouldn’t pull through. My theme I kept preaching was ‘Run through the tape, run through the tape, run through the tape.’
“It’s all about closing, and that’s what we were struggling with. That was our theme for the second half of the year – you have to learn how to take a good thing and finish it. Looking at the scores, you could see we lost some games, but that didn’t matter. They still were in it. They didn’t allow Upper Merion to get in their heads and defeat them. That was such a huge accomplishment for us because it’s so easy, based on their history, to allow them to intimidate to you.”
The Hatters were coming off a first place finish at the Red Rover Tournament on Saturday.
“Every year I give them a quote as a theme for the week, and this week it was ‘Winning breeds confidence, and confidence breeds winning,’” Tanner said. “I said that because coming off the gold medal this weekend – winning brings the confidence going into Upper Merion. The confidence should bring the win.
“They were really on tonight, they were really offensive – all of them. We really dictated the offense which I think was a difference from the past. It was a really nice feeling, and nobody gave up. It was all about staying focused and running through the tape.
“We never gave up huge runs like the first time we played them. They just really wanted it tonight, and I think that was a difference.”
Tuesday’s match was a far cry from an early season meeting between the two teams that saw the Vikings earn a 3-0 win (25-21, 25-18, 25-16).
“After that we had a talk the next day at practice, and we said, ‘We’re not letting any teams walk all over us. We can’t let this happen anymore. We need to work hard and start training,’” Riley said. “So ever since then, we have been going in the weight room after school and doing conditioning and stuff, and I think that really paid off tonight.”
The Hatters didn’t just need to overcome the Vikings on the court but also their fans in the stands.
“Playing in club so many years, I’m used to being in a loud environment, playing in a convention center where there are so many courts going on, and it’s always loud, so I learned how to tone it out,” Riley said. “I never let that stuff bother me.”
“Candyce and I have a lot of experience being in a loud environment,” Jones added. “But I was really impressed with some of the girls who may not play in settings like we do.
“Kat (Yankanich) is a freshman, and she came in – we were down 12-13, and she came in and served three aces in a row, even with the crowd yelling at her, screaming her name, yelling her number. They look at the roster, they’ll find your name, and they’ll go at you. I don’t think any of us were really affected at all. I was very impressed.”
The Hatters showed their mettle after falling 28-26 in a fourth set that saw them lose a late lead, rallying to win the fifth set 23-21.
“We had game point six or seven times,” Jones said. “It was ridiculous. It would be like 17-16, and we would go back to serve, and we’d side out. It was crazy. It was back and forth the whole time.”
Jones (39 kills, 35 digs) and Riley (56 assists, 29 digs) turned in monster performances.
“I give a lot of credit to Sam and Candyce,” the Hatters’ coach said. “Their leadership really made the difference.
“Their confidence and their leadership was contagious. You could see it in their eyes that they truly believed that we could do it, and I think it was really contagious and the rest of them really bought into it.”
Yankanich had four aces and served for 29 points.
“In the fifth game, we were trailing, and she was critical that we came back,” Tanner said. “For a freshman and the pressure – not only did she do great as a server, she really stepped up on defense. I was really proud of her.
“When the pressure was really on her, she stepped up and really did well. There are some kids that will crumble, but she just invited it in. She’s never been in that kind of pressure situation, and she handled it beautifully. You would never know she was a freshman. It was really nice.”
Alexa Kennedy contributed 11 kills and junior Jaimee Stoczko added nine. Jones, sophomore Allison Laucella and senior Rachel DeMarco, according to Tanner, delivered exceptional passing scores. Laucella added 28 digs.
Senior Dymond Black, junior Cassidy Quattro and Stoczko each contributed two blocks.
“Nobody wanted to lose,” Tanner said. “That was the beauty of this match. Nobody would let the ball hit the floor. It was a beautiful match for both teams because nobody wanted to go down.
“I have to give credit to my girls. They were really on. Everyone was on. No one had an off night. In a five-game match, you’re going to have some things that don’t go your way, but the great thing was they were able to reset and move on, and that was critical. That shows the maturity of a team, and it shows our growth from the beginning of the season. I was really proud of them.”
Jones acknowledged that it was a different Hatter squad that took the court Tuesday night.
“We’ve always been a team that if someone pushes us, we let people walk all over us, but I guess after that fourth game, we decided, ‘Today’s not the day. We’re not letting this happen,’” Jones said. “We came out in the fifth set – there were a couple of points that were really kind of questionable, and they were hard to come back from, but overall, as a team, we really came together in the end and just finished the game. It was crazy.”
For the Vikings, Eryn Brady and Emily Shannon had 11 and 13 kills, respectively. Ashley Shannon had 22 digs.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, WILLIAM TENNENT 1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-11, 25-21)
Hailey Burns finished with a double-double to lead the Indians, delivering 10 kills and 21 digs. Aly Kuiken and Meg Hannagan both had eight kills. Krista Campbell had 16 digs, four aces and 26 assists. Devon Ceslak had 22 digs.
For the Panthers, Lindsay Snock had seven kills to lead the team. Alex Koppany had 17 assists and five kills while libero Maddie Richard had 30 digs. Coach Brian Bassler lauded the defensive efforts of Cadey Weir and Catherine Zhushma while Cassie McCarney also played hard.
“I loved the determination and effort of our team tonight,” Bassler said. “They represented our team really well.
“I am proud of them. As long as they keep fighting like this, good things will happen.”
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, NORTH PENN 0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-21)
Taylor Danilowicz led a strong serving game for the Titans with five aces while Sarah Poli had three. Erin Cleary had a solid serving game with three aces, Larissa Keer added two and Megan Manderson had one service ace.
“Brianna Bannach, Sarah Poli, Taylor Danilowicz and Larissa Keer serve received well with 35 totals passes,” coach Ulana Keer said. “Erin Cleary had 15 assists that resulted in points.”
Danilowicz led the Titans with six kills and Poli had five. Manderson and Ecklemeyer both had one kill. Meghan Dunn and Ecklemeyer both had two blocks.
PENNRIDGE 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
Steph Judkins had a big night for the Rams with 13 kills and eight digs. Victoria Jones had eight kills, and Ariana Pryzbylowski had nine kills. Meghan Keefe had 28 assists and two aces. Lauren Drugotch had five kills and five blocks.
UPPER DUBLIN 3, ABINGTON 0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22)
Taylor Stek had another big performance for the Flying Cardinals, delivering 14 kills, six digs and one ace. Melanie Phifer had nine kills, four aces and five digs. Gabbi Johnson led the defense with 15 digs. Setter Bryn Stek had 25 assists, eight digs and two aces.
For the Ghosts, Carley Cooper had 16 assists, six digs and two blocks. Leah Simmons led the Ghosts at the net with 11 kills to go along with three blocks, seven digs and three blocks. Claire Gassman had five kills and nine digs, and Jamie Kidd had 14 digs and two aces.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, QUAKERTOWN 1 (25-19, 25-20, 18-25, 25-17)
Setter Kayla King had a big night at the service line for the Bucks, delivering eight aces to go along with three kills, 21 assists and four digs. Kelly McKinstry added six aces and 22 digs. Sophia Videva led the attack with eight kills to go along with one ace and one block. Ashley Juliano had four kills, two aces, one block and seven digs. Katie Hudson had five kills and two aces, and Julia Schweibenz added three kills, one block and 13 digs.
For the Panthers, Amanda Pursel led the way with 15 kills and 12 digs while Haley Sheehan added 10 kills and two aces. Kerry Vanyo had 19 assists, two aces and five digs. Jen Sterner added 10 assists, five kills and seven digs. Lindsay Beck led the defense with 22 digs and two aces.
Monday, Sept. 29
METHACTON 3, QUAKERTOWN 0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-19)
Haley Sheehan (six kills) and Katelyn Spieker (four kills) led the Panthers at the net. Setter Jen Sterner had nine assists, two kills and four aces. Lindsay Beck had 10 digs and one ace.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
Kelly Guillen and Krista Helveston led a balanced attack with six kills each. Bridget Terrel had five kills while Natalie Arm and Julia Gallagher each had four kills. Emma Goll added two kills, and Lauren Helveston had two kills and 19 assists. Madie D’Angelo added two aces and 11 assists.
“It was a well balanced game from East,” coach Scott Geller said. “Great depth allowed us to work in different lineups and helped contribute to the win.”
UPPER MERION 3, UNIONVILLE 1 (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21).
The Vikings played a very tough Unionville team coming off a win over previously undefeated Downingtown West.
Freshman Emma Andraka, according to coach Tony Funsten, came up with her best all-around match, leading the offense with 11 kills and adding 17 digs. Emily Shannon had another triple double with 10 kills, 14 service points and 14 digs. Ashley Shannon led the defense with 20 digs while Carlye Odorisio set the offense with 29 assists. Niki Carpenter kept order in the middle with six block kills while middle Carolyn Helenski added five kills. Eryn Brady added eight kills.
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