To view action photos of the Council Rock North/Central York and Pennridge/Central games, please visit the photo gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Pennridge 3, Central 0 (25-13, 25-4, 25-11)
LOWER GWYNEDD – While Council Rock North was going through its pre-game warm-ups before Tuesday night’s PIAA Class AAA opener against Central York, members of the Pennridge volleyball team watched with interest from the top row of the bleachers at Wissahickon High School. Five days earlier, the Indians downed the defending district champion Rams to capture the District One AAA title.
As a consolation prize for finishing second, the Rams earned a date with District 12 runner-up Central in Tuesday’s opening round of states. Not a bad consolation prize. The Rams needed less than an hour to sweep District 12’s second place squad and earn a coveted spot in the elite eight at Penn State University this weekend. Rock North, meanwhile, was faced with the daunting task of defeating a Central York squad that is ranked third in the state but had been upset in the District 3 semifinals.
“It’s definitely strange,” Pennridge senior Jake Braun said. “We knew going into the district final that we would get a much worse draw if we were to win the finals, and we knew that going in, but we definitely still wanted to win.
“After we lost – it was devastating to lose the district finals, but we’re past that, and we’re looking toward states.”
Just because they had taken the easier road to Penn State didn’t make the prospect any less exciting to the players.
“I don’t know if words can describe how excited we are,” senior Derek Kemmerer said. “It’s been our goal all season to get back to states, and once you’re there, anything can happen. We’re really excited to get another chance at a state title.
“We played hard all season. We have proven we can play with the best teams in the state. We definitely feel we deserve to be there. It’s not like we chose an easy road. That’s just the draw we got.”
Tuesday’s match was over almost before it began against a Lancer squad that would have been a decided underdog under optimum circumstances but was minus nine seniors. The Rams actually found themselves deadlocked with the Lancers 8-8 and led just 17-13 when Kemmerer stepped to the service line and served out the game, a run that was capped with a Mike Shenk kill for game point.
“Physically, it feels completely the same as any other match, but mentally, it’s hard to get any sort of momentum, any sort of intensity and excitement,” Kemmerer said. “It’s just tough to do. It’s a neutral site, so not many fans are here.
“We’re playing a team that we came into (the match) knowing they weren’t an upper level team. It’s tough just to come into it with a real sense of urgency.”
Braun served for six straight points to open game two, and it was a 9-2 game when Matt Trumbower stepped to the service line and reeled off 14 straight points. The Lancers called a timeout after a hitting miscue put the Rams on top 15-2. It didn’t help. Shenk, Kemmerer and Kalin Nelson delivered consecutive kills before the Lancers had a hit in the net. Kills by Kemmerer and Erik Moyer prompted Central to call another timeout.
This time Shenk responded with a block, and Trumbower delivered a service ace, capping the 14-point run and putting the Rams on top 23-2. The Rams won it when Moyer delivered an ace for game point.
Still, it was hardly reason for celebration.
“It’s really frustrating,” Braun said. “When we go from a game like the district final against Council Rock North with 300 people in the stands screaming at every single point and then to come to a game where there are five-minute silences because they’re out of rotation or something like that – it’s really frustrating, and it’s really hard to get into a rhythm.”
Game three wasn’t a whole lot different, although the Lancers managed to keep the score a bit more respectable, but they were no match for a Ram squad intent on returning to the state tournament.
When it was over, coach Dave Childs – the first to acknowledge that his team’s road to Penn State had been an easy one – was happy to see his team return to the elite eight after a season that saw them compile a 20-1 record.
“It is what it is,” the Rams’ coach said of the tournament bracket. “I think we had a strong season, and I think we’re a talented team.
“Hopefully, we will have a good showing this weekend. This is what they worked for. It’s rewarding since they worked for it this hard all season and in the offseason too.”
The Rams will participate in pool play on Friday with the top two teams from each pool advancing to Saturday’s semifinals.
“We have to play our best,” Childs said. “We haven’t been doing that.
“It’s hard in certain situations, but we have a lot of talent. We have a group that can do well, but it’s really about making sure we’re mentally ready and showing up to play. Whoever gets hot that day advances, and whoever gets hot day two wins”
“We just need to keep our heads on straight,” Braun added. “We can’t lose focus like we did in this game. We need to be sure we’re on top of our game and pass well.
“If one person is down, we have to pick each other up. That’s definitely the key for us – just connecting with each other. If we do that, we can compete with any team in the state.”
Trumbower had 29 assists and five blocks. Moyer had eight kills and four blocks. Nelson also had eight kills while Shenk had seven kills. Kemmerer had six aces on a night that saw the Rams serve for 19 aces.
Central York 3, Council Rock North 1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 25-20)
LOWER GWYNEDD - Susan Kim didn’t hesitate for even a millisecond when asked which she would have preferred – a district title or an easy road to the elite eight at Penn State in the PIAA Class AAA Tournament.
“I want both,” Rock North’s first year coach said.
Kim and her players didn’t have that option. The Indians’ reward for winning the district title last Thursday was an opening round date with Central York, the state’s third-ranked team which had been upset in the District 3 semifinals.
“What can you do?” Kim said. “We get that a lot when I’m coaching the girls at (Archbishop) Wood too. You’re almost getting an easier road if you don’t win the Catholic League.
“If you want to be the best team, you have to go through your obstacles and overcome them in order to get all the way. It wasn’t just to get to Penn State. It was just to really accomplish something and be a successful team. I think they’ve definitely improved. We’ve made some marks. I guess now we’ll be hungry for more next year.”
The players were greeted by applause from their fans as they emerged from the locker room after their final post-game meeting, but there was no hiding the disappointment they were feeling after suffering their first loss of a successful season.
“It’s the end of what we’ve been working toward for four years,” senior co-captain John Whitman said. “We thought about it, and we realized there were two options – would you rather end the season with a loss or end the season winning states. We would much rather have won states.”
“This is our last high school athletic event,” senior co-captain Hunter Stevens added. “Looking back – winning districts and winning the league. This was our first loss all season. It’s tough to have it come at a time like this.
“We would have rather had it come in the middle of the season, maybe against a Neshaminy, and we could have come back and beat them and still had a league title. This was our first loss, our only loss, and having it now when we could have made it to Penn State is very disappointing.”
The match started out on a promising note for the Indians as they opened up a 15-12 lead in game one after a Ryan Garven block. That lead grew to 17-13, prompting Central York to call a timeout. The team responded with a 5-0 run to go on top 19-18. A block by Dan Ford knotted the score 19-19, but Central York went on to open up a 23-20 lead. A Garven block made it a 23-22 game, and the Indians rallied to knot the score, but a Paul Kuhn kill was followed by a Rock North hitting error, and Central York had notched the come-from-behind win.
“Even at the beginning of the first game, we were thinking if we kept it up we could have it, but they made adjustments, and we stopped playing our game,” Whitman said.
In game two, the Indians opened up a 20-16 lead only to watch Central York rally to make it a 21-19 game after a kill by Juaniata-bound Kuhn. Stevens answered with a kill for the Indians to make it a 22-19 game. Central Bucks answered with four straight points to go on top 23-22 with the final two points coming on back-to-back aces by Kuhn. Stevens broke Central York’s run with a kill and followed that with a service ace just inside the side line. A Central York hit out of play gave the Indians the big win.
Central York responded by seizing early control of the next two games on its way to the win and a trip to the elite eight at Penn State.
“The thing about that team is that they match up with us very well from the hitting standpoint,” Whitman said. “I think both of our styles are very similar.
“The thing that normally sets us apart is our defense and our tenacity, and it kind of lacked tonight. We saw balls hitting the floor, we saw miscommunication, and our blocking wasn’t as good as it needed to be. Those three things came together to allow them to go on large runs.”
“We definitely got a difficult draw coming out of districts in first place,” Stevens said. “We didn’t step up when we should have, but I think we should be going to states.”
For the Indians, Ford was credited with 25 assists, seven kills and 10 digs. Whitman had 19 assists and six kills. Garven had a team-high 15 kills to go along with eight digs and three blocks while Stevens had 13 kills. Garrison Lovely had seven kills, and junior libero Chris Richards had 19 digs.
“They’re a good team,” Kim said Central York. “We struggled because we didn’t block and play defense like we did against Pennridge.
“Look at the difference between the blocks we had Thursday night and tonight. It will show that we didn’t do our part in that, and that’s why we struggled. If you can’t pass the ball, you can’t take a swing. We had some nice stats with the attack tonight, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Rock North closed out its season with a 16-1 record.
Hemfield 3, Souderton 0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-15)
The Indians closed out their season with a 17-6 overall record after advancing to the state tournament for the seventh time in eight years.
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