Archrivals Pennsbury and Neshaminy were winners in Tuesday’s District 1 3A semifinals and will meet in Thursday’s district title match at Central Bucks South High School (7 pm).
District 1 3A Semifinal
NO. 1 PENNSBURY 3, NO. 4 UNIONVILLE 0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21)
Lukas Ricciardi and Kieran Shaw tend to garner much of the attention and credit for Pennsbury’s stellar season. But it takes a team to put together a winning season and an extended postseason run. In Tuesday’s District 1 3A semifinal, the team’s unsung heroes rose to the occasion to lift the top-seeded Falcons to a 3-0 victory over No. 4 Unionville and into the District 1 Final.
“Everyone knows Lukas Ricciardi. He is an explosive jumper, attacker, and server for us the past 2 seasons and gets a lot of sets along the way. Everyone knows Kieran Shaw. He is a 6'7" All-State setter, over 1000 career assists, outstanding blocker, and great overall player,” said Pennsbury coach Justin Fee. “They were the ones that got recognition on our team last year outside of the seniors that graduated. Everyone was expecting them to carry us, and they did, but we’re at the point now where other people are getting so good and comfortable at their spots that even when Lukas isn’t playing the best, we’re still able to beat teams, and that was really the difference tonight because Lukas was not on his game at the net like he usually is, but a kid like Deaglan(Cavanaugh) and his brother Billy are picking up the slack. What is really driving our team toward success this season is the play of a few other starters that don't get the recognition they have earned.”
With Tuesday’s sweep, the Falcons will have an opportunity to defend a district title they own when they face archrival Neshaminy on Thursday.
“We really thought as a coaching staff and talking to other coaches that District 1 – we thought anyone in the playoffs could beat anyone,” Fee said. “It’s nice we’re still near the top because it was like – ‘We’re going to be in some serious battles,’ so for us to win 3-0 three matches in a row is justification to our guys that – yes, they can do this.
“There are some newer people in the lineup that stepped up and made our team what we actually are.”
By the numbers: Pennsbury: Deaglan Cavanagh (2 aces, 8 kills, .312, 12 digs, 2 blocks), Billy Cavanagh (5 kills, .714, 6 blocks, 3 digs, 1 ace), Lukas Ricciardi (11 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks, 8 digs), Kieran Shaw (2 aces, 30 assists, 7 kills, 3 digs), Brayden Danbury (10 digs), Andrew Fouss 5( kills, 1 block, 1 dig), Colton Fee (3 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs)
Pennsbury coach Justin Fee on
--Unsung heroes: “Billy Cavanagh is playing next season at Springfield College and is having a dominant season for us in the middle. Billy leads our team in blocks and is up there with our pin hitters in kills. He runs a variety of attacks to successfully score vs the double block he is constantly seeing as a middle up front with the setter. His jump serve game has been coming on strong toward the latter part of the season also. We have been going on scoring runs when he is back there. He was overlooked last season, only making Third-Team All-League, but this kid is one of the best middles in the league and District One.
“Deaglan Cavanagh (Billy's twin brother) has quickly and quietly become a very smart and effective hitter on the outside for us. He has all of the shots as a pin hitter and has learned all of it so very quickly. Deaglan was a setter for us up until this season. He was Kieran’s backup setter his entire career. Going into this season, he knew we needed an outside hitter, and he’s like – I’m going to start passing and learn to hit outside, and that’s what he did this offseason. He is a very smart kid, learns quickly and has a great understanding for the game of volleyball. He has a good eye for what is going on with our opponent and has played extremely well so far this season. There really isn't a weak part to his game. He has been putting up numbers statistically during the second half of the season that are as good as some of our all-time great players at Pennsbury.
“Brayden Danbury has jumped in and played the libero position extremely well as a first-year starter. He has been a solid passer and defender often comes up with some timely digs. He is always flying around and gives his teammates motivation to do the same.
“Andrew Fouss has worked hard to become a great player his senior year. He is quick in the middle, has high energy as a blocker, and never gives up on closing a block. On top of that, he has a nasty jump float when he gets it going. His teammates named it the ‘Demon Serve.’ It's out to seek, kill, and destroy.
“Colton Fee is the only junior on the court. He has been a solid blocker, defender, and tough server all season. We have been scoring a lot of points when he is serving. Toward the second half of the season he has started to come along offensively, which is going to be huge for us going forward.”
Up next: Pennsbury will see a host of familiar faces when it takes to the court in Thursday’s District 1 Class 3A Final, set for 7 pm at Central Bucks South High School. The Falcons will square off with neighborhood rival and seventh seed Neshaminy, which topped No. 6 Spring-Ford in straight sets in Tuesday’s semifinal.
“I think it’s going to be a great game because when we played them the first time at Pennsbury – they were without their best hitter, Bek (Baiyshbekov),” Fee said of Pennsbury’s regular season win over Neshaminy. “He jumped in and played slightly injured in the third and fourth sets.
“When we played them at Neshaminy, Lukas hyperextended his elbow the day before in practice, so he was tipping and rolling and wasn’t really going for some crushing kills. He wasn’t jump serving, and they were playing hot. They’re the one team that poses issues to us matchup-wise with what they like to do. They defended us very well the two times we played them, so it’s going to be a tough one for us. It’s going to be fun.”
NO. 7 NESHAMINY 3, NO. 6 SPRING-FORD 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-23)
Beknazar Baiyshbekov racked up 14 kills while Nursultan Kadyrbekov nailed 9 kills, and El-Mansur Sagaliev dished out a whopping 38 assists to go along with 7 digs as Neshaminy earned a berth in the PIAA State Tournament and advanced to the District 1 3A Final with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-23) victory over sixth seed Spring-Ford in Tuesday’s semifinal matchup.
“It really was about staying together as a team and not falling apart,” Neshaminy senior Max Currie said. “There have been times during the season when we would go into a rough stretch where we lost five or more points in a row, and that would kind of destroy us the entire game, and that happened the first time versus Pennsbury, but last game and this game, there have been runs where they had five straight points, and we didn’t let it faze us, and we just came right back.
“Tonight, we won the set. we were up eight points in the third set (20-12), and they came all the way back and tied it (23-23), but we still found a way to stay together as a team, not get too far down on ourselves and just keep pushing, and we got the W.”
In Thursday’s final, the Redskins – who split with the Falcons in the regular season – will take on archrival and top-seeded Pennsbury.
“It’s very exciting,” Currie said. “We know it’s going to be a good game. It’s a neutral site. At the end of the day, it’s just who can play better volleyball, and I feel like we’re confident that we have a good shot to win this game.”
By the numbers: Neshaminy: Vraj Amin (3 kills, 2 assists, 6 digs), Beknazar Baiyshbekov (14 kills, 1 ace, 2 assists, 7 digs, 2 blocks), Nursultan Kadyrbekov (9 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs, 3 blocks), Arlan Zharassov (7 kills, 3 blocks), El-Mansur Sagaliev (3 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 2 digs, 38 assists), Max Currie (7 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks), Ryan MacMullen (1 assist, 9 digs), Daniel Zhaneybaev (1 ace, 3 digs), Damien Castro (1 assist, 3 digs).
Neshaminy coach Pat Klingerman: "Spring-Ford is a very well-coached team – (they do) a great job getting them ready to play. Our guys came in ready to play and followed the game plan we put together."
--The journey from seven seed to final: “Our boys have always believed. They work really hard together obviously inside and outside the classroom as well. We had some setbacks early in the year. There were some matches that we probably shouldn’t have lost. We faced a lot of adversity from some players being academically ineligible, some others getting in trouble at school and getting kicked off the team. We faced a lot of challenges most teams don’t face. Because of that, a couple of games slipped away, and this year the conference was so tight – all it took was a couple games to slip away, and we went from being a top seed to being all the way back in the seven hole.
“Like we told our guys, we were probably the most dangerous seven seed out there. We managed to beat Pennsbury (in the regular season). We show flashes here and there and had headscratchers other nights. We knew going into the playoffs we had a very senior heavy group. At least five of the starters are seniors, so definitely they knew what was ahead. They’ve been there – most of this group have been starters for two years, so they knew the challenges ahead.
“We played a tough Wissahickon team at home (in the opening round). They’re young, but they were definitely a challenge for us, so that was good to open up with a win and build that momentum. Especially coming off our last (regular season) match which was a loss. You’re never sure how they’re going to respond. Then going up to Pennridge—they’re a perennial powerhouse - 15 years straight in the district semifinals. Dave (Childs) does a great job with them every year, but to go in their house and beat them on their home court was good. We executed the game plan. Our middles did a fantastic job hitting. Offensively, they hit .734 combined.”
--No letdown: “The guys were really juiced up (after the Pennridge win), and you never know coming off a big win like that what you’re going to do the next game, so it helped that we had the weekend to settle back down, develop a game plan and scouting report for Spring-Ford. (Their coach) does a great job with them, getting them ready to go. They’re a newer program, somebody we really don’t see that often, which makes it even more challenging. Once again, we managed to go to a neutral site (Pope John Paul II) that was only seven minutes away from Spring-Ford. They definitely had some home court advantage – they had the crowd on their side and all that, but our guys never let that get in their way. They continued to believe in each other, they came back and pulled out all close sets, all 25-23. The last set we were up big – we were up 20-12, and they made a comeback. It was actually tied at 23, but thankfully, we pulled it out.
“It’s just them trusting in one another, trusting the process, trusting in what we do – our system and believing in one another and playing for each other. For being a seven seed, we felt we should have been up there as a two or three seed, but you get what you get. Now we get Pennsbury for round three.”
Neshaminy senior Max Currie:
--Key to success this season: “I think it’s a lot of building trust and connections as a team. Most of us did play together last year, but there were definitely some bumps along the road last year with us getting knocked out earlier in the playoffs. This year, we didn’t lose many pieces, and we got one new piece, and it was about re-forming that connection and figuring out how each other plays. I feel like we’ve gotten a lot better with our energy and our morale, picking each other up after bad plays and celebrating the good ones. As we’ve gotten more positive as a team, I think that’s really helped us. Especially these last couple of games in playoffs.”
--The upset of Pennridge: “It was a combination of confidence, energy and preparation. They had a really great crowd there, but our bench did a really great job of matching that, getting loud and celebrating us, so a shoutout to them. Our coaches always do a great job with the game plan before every game to ensure we know what we’re doing with our blocking, our hitting and who their best players are, so when we step out onto the court, we know what we’re supposed to do.”
Up next: It will be an all-Suburban One showdown in Thursday’s District 1 Class 3A Final, set for 7 pm at Central Bucks South High School. Neshaminy (18-4, 11-3 SOL) will look to take down neighborhood rival and the district’s top seed in Pennsbury, which dispatched No. 4 Unionville in straight sets in Tuesday’s semifinal.
“Definitely some things we still need to work on before taking on #1 Pennsbury on Thursday in the finals,” Klingerman said. “Always great to punch your ticket to states, but this group has their eye on a bigger prize on Thursday, so we will need to be ready to go to battle against a really talented Pennsbury team.”
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