Tony Funsten compared his volleyball team to a cat with nine lives.
And the Vikings needed every one of those lives to escape out of pool play in Saturday’s opening round of the PIAA Class AAA Tournament at Council Rock South High School.
The Vikings had three chances to clinch second place in pool play and earn a spot in next weekend’s PIAA Tournament at York, but they didn’t clinch that coveted berth until their third try – almost 12 hours after their bus left Upper Merion at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.
The day certainly started out on a promising enough note when the Vikings rolled to a 3-0 win over Carlisle (25-16, 25-22, 25-13). Sisters Devyn and Melanie Ingram each had 10 kills while Cassidy Koenig had nine kills, 26 assists and 21 digs. Annie Lawn had three blocks, and Shannon Phillips, 18 digs.
That set up a date with a Parkland squad in dire need of a win after dropping its opening round match to Avon Grove.
“They were desperate because if they lost that match, pretty much their season was over,” coach Tony Funsten said.
The Vikings fell in three games (17-25, 25-23, 21-25), dropping the third game after opening up a 21-15 lead.
“To be fair, they really took it from us,” Funsten said. “They served aggressively, they were killing the ball – they were hitting balls we couldn’t play. They have that type of talent.”
In that match, Koenig had 10 kills, 17 assists and 10 digs while Devyn Ingram had 10 kills and 14 digs. Phillips had 16 digs.
The Vikings’ next opponent was an Avon Grove squad they had edged in a prolific battle in the district semifinals. A win – and the Vikings’ spot in next weekend’s state tournament would have been ensured.
That win didn’t happen.
Avon Grove won two of three games (23-25, 25-19, 25-18).
“We won the first game and then just had a lull in the second game and played as poorly as I have seen us play all year,” Funsten said. “We just couldn’t get out of it. It was like being in a funk.”
In the match, Devyn Ingram had 11 kills and 14 digs while Koenig had eight kills, 13 digs and 27 assists. Melanie Ingram had seven kills and 14 digs while Phillips and Casey Griffith, according to Funsten, did a great job of serve receive.
It looked as though the Vikings’ season might be over, but Carlisle edged Parkland 2-1. That set up a three-way tie for second place.
“We got a reprieve – if we had beaten either Parkland or Avon Grove, we’re in,” Funsten said. “Now our season was over (if Carlisle loses), but they came back to win.”
The Vikings - which had the best record of the three teams in actual games – had a bye while Parkland and Carlisle did battle. Parkland defeated Carlisle 25-13, setting up a winner-take-all rematch with Upper Merion.
This time the Vikings were ready and earned a 25-19 win. Devyn Ingram had eight kills in that one game. She also had nine digs as did her sister Melanie. Koenig had 10 assists and seven digs.
“We had two-hour break before we played Parkland, and to be honest, that time off really helped us,” Funsten said. “We had a chance to regroup. If we had played our playoff game right away, we would have probably played the same way we had been playing.
“That gave us a chance to regenerate, and we watched Parkland kill Carlisle. We went out and scored the first three points and never looked back. We just played a great game. We played fabulously. I was watching Upper Merion play again. Before that, I don’t know who I was watching. In that game, it was Upper Merion at its best.”
Four of the eight teams at next weekend’s state team are from District One. All three pool winners at Rock South on Saturday were District One squads as Mount St. Joseph Academy and Unionville both won their respective pools as well and will join Avon Grove and Upper Merion at York.
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