Visit the photo gallery at http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
ROYERSFORD – ‘Cassidy’s game’ was the nickname Tony Funsten’s son gave to the second game of Thursday night’s District One AAA semifinal match against Avon Grove. It was most fitting.
When Upper Merion freshman Cassidy Koenig stepped to the service line, the Vikings – who trailed by as many as nine – were staring at a 21-16 deficit. By the time she left, they led 23-21 on their way to a 3-0 sweep of the Red Devils (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Spring-Ford High School.
Koenig’s dazzling service run included two aces and a push deep into the opposite corner for a winner that left the Red Devils reeling.
“I was talking about the second game, and my son said, ‘You mean Cassidy’s game?’” Funsten said. “She just made play after play after play – whether it was a dig or aces on her serve.
“Cassidy came up huge, but the whole team did. You don’t make comebacks like that unless everyone is doing their jobs.”
Koenig and sophomore Devyn Ingram have been a perfect fit on a Viking squad that boasts a wonderful combination of youth and veteran experience.
“We’re one big happy family,” Koenig said with a giggle.
“We’re not only friends in volleyball,” Ingram added. “We try and get together outside of volleyball too and stay close outside of volleyball.”
The Vikings’ big happy family is just one win away from a district crown.
“We’re so, so, so excited,” Ingram said. “I couldn’t stop screaming after we won.”
Upper Merion looked like a well-oiled machine as it made easy business of an Avon Grove squad that boasted all kinds of weapons.
The Vikings were heady – opting at times to pass on big kills for well-placed tips, dumps and pushes.
They played defense as if their very lives depended on it. Whether it was libero Katie DeLone, who had 19 digs, bringing up a monster kill or Lisa Ridgeway somehow saving a ball heading out of play with a one-handed stab, the Vikings frustrated the Red Devils at every turn.
“Defense wins games,” Ingram said. “Against a team like that, we need to stay low, move our feet and expect deflections or else we’re not going to be able to pull it together. We try not to let balls drop. We’ll dive and do whatever we can to not let a ball drop.
“We pulled it together and did good. That’s what happens when we play as a team.”
If it’s kills the Vikings were looking for, setters Koenig and Kim Landmesser had options galore – alternately dishing the ball off to Ridgeway (10 kills), Alex Galdi (nine kills), Ingram (seven kills) or Elizabeth DiValerio.
From the outset, it was clear the Vikings meant business. They led 4-1 when DeLone – while on the floor – came up with a remarkable dig that fell in for a winner.
“She’s gotten better and better – passing and serve receive,” Funsten said.
The Vikings led 14-10 after a Ridgeway push fell in for a winner. A Galdi block put the Vikings on top 19-13. The Red Devils cut that lead to four, but a Galdi kill sparked a 3-0 mini-run that put the Vikings on top 22-15. Avon Grove would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
If there was a defining sequence in the match, it came in game two after the Vikings fell behind 17-8. Trailing by nine late, many teams might concede the game. Not the Vikings.
Ridgeway delivered a kill and block, and after a Red Devil hit into the net, Ridgeway had another block to make it a 17-12 game. The Red Devils regrouped to go on top 20-13, but a Ridgeway ace was followed by an Ingram kill, making it a 20-15 game.
Avon Grove used a kill to go on top 21-15, but then the Vikings – or more specifically Koenig – took charge. After delivering a winner to make it a five-point game, Koenig stepped to the service line. Back-to-back Red Devil hitting errors trimmed the Red Devils’ lead to 21-18. 
Then – after an Avon Grove timeout – Koenig delivered the push kill to the back corner of the court.
“I kind of glance on the court and see if they’re near the corners,” said Koenig, who finished the night with five kills, 14 assists and 18 digs. “If I see that it’s open, I try to push it there.”
A serve that caught the tape and fell in for an ace made it a 21-20 game, and then Galdi – who had a big night on the outside –delivered a kill to knot the score.
A hastily called Red Devil timeout could not break the Vikings’ momentum, and after an Avon Grove hitting miscue, Koenig collected a service ace, putting the Vikings on top 23-21. Avon Grove used back-to-back kills to knot the score, but the Vikings would not be denied. An Ingram kill was followed by a Landmesser winner for game point, and the Red Devils didn’t stand a chance.
“I told them at the beginning of the match that I thought they were just going through the motions during warm-ups,” Funsten said. “I said, ‘You better start covering, you better start moving to the right spot because they’re so big. They get touches on everything.’”
The Red Devils may have had a better warm-up, but when the curtain went up and it was time to play for keeps, the match belonged to the Vikings.
In game three, the two teams were tied 8-8, but Ingram slammed home a kill that gave the Vikings a lead they would not lose. They led 14-10 after a Galdi block, and that lead grew to 15-10 after a Ridgeway winner. An Ingram block put the Vikings on top 17-11, and they led 20-12 after a Ridgeway cross court kill from the back row.
The Red Devils pulled to within five (22-17), but a Ridgeway kill was followed by a DiValerio block, and a win was in the books when DiValerio lofted a winner over the block at the net for match point.
The top-seeded Vikings will face second-seeded Unionville in Saturday’s title match at Spring –Ford. Unionville edged Haverford 3-2 in a marathon two-and-a-half hour marathon semifinal (25-27, 25-23, 25-22, 18-25, 23-21).
- Log in to post comments
0
