Pennsbury defeated Neshaminy in three sets, capping a magical run through the District 1 3A Tournament that included four straight three-set wins. Photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' BOYS' VOLLEYBALL GALLERIES.
District 1 3A title game
#1 PENNSBURY 3, #7 NESHAMINY 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-23)
It was only one point in a match of close to 150 points, but this one made a statement, a very clear statement.
The point began with a perfect set- a backwards one-handed set, according to Kieran Shaw.
“It's really hard to set one-handed backwards,” the Falcons’ senior setter said. “I just needed to try it and see if I could pull it off in a game on the biggest stage like this.”
Shaw pulled it off, and Lukas Ricciardi finished it off with a bone-jarring kill that hit the floor before anyone could possibly react, giving the Falcons an 18-13 lead in the third set.
“Kieran had that amazing set,” Ricciardi said. “It really just gave me a wide-open net. It was a close game, and I just knew I had to put it away. One big last momentum swing, and we could easily just take it home.”
It wasn’t necessarily easy, but Riccaiardi certainly did his part, stepping back to the service line and winning the next point with a back row kill, and then Colton Fee delivered a block that gave the Falcons a 20-13 lead. A service winner on Ricciardi’s laser serve upped the Falcons’ lead to seven.
“(That kill) really helped me - once I get a lot of really good momentum in my head, it just makes me get one level higher on that swing, just much more confident,” Ricciardi said.
The Redskins did not go down quietly, battling back to make it a 22-20 game behind the inspired play of Bek Baiyshbekov at the net. Pennsbury senior Deaglan Cavanagh broke the Redskins’ run with a kill that gave the Falcons a four-point advantage. Again, the ‘Skins came back, pulling to within one (24-23) after a Pennsbury hit sailed out of play before the Falcons won it on a Neshaminy miscue at the net.
“Ever since they beat us (3-1 on May 6), I’ve had this game circled,” Ricciardi said. “I knew from the beginning of the season it would come down to us.
“That loss we had really just hurt me deep. I know I wasn’t 100 percent for that game, but it still hurt, and I just more than anybody wanted to win that game.”
Thursday’s district title is the second in as many years for Pennsbury.
“It just feels amazing,” Shaw said. “We knew coming into this year it wasn't going to be the same as last year, but we had this goal, and we worked for it every day. We worked really hard in practice, and we just ended up getting it done tonight.”.
Thursday’s win was their sixth straight since suffering their only loss of the season to Neshaminy.
“I honestly felt like we played our worst all season the last time we played Neshaminy, and it put us in a rut,” Pennsbury coach Justin Fee said. “I wasn’t sure we were going to right the ship. There were people pointing fingers, people questioning themselves as players, but they were able to dig down and turn it around, and that’s amazing that they didn’t drop a set in district playoffs.
“That’s something that even our greatest of teams have never done. Maybe my 2013 team that was outstanding and went to the (state) finals – they might have been the last team to do something like that.”
By the numbers: Pennsbury: (Game stats will be added when received)
Neshaminy: Vraj Amin (2 kills, 11 digs), Beknazar Baiyshbekov (17 kills, 12 digs, 3 blocks), Nursultan Kadyrbekov (3 kills, 3 aces, 1 assist, 4 digs), Arlan Zharassov (5 kills, 1 dig, 3 blocks), El-Mansur Sagaliev (1 kill, 1 ace, 1 block, 2 digs, 23 assists), Max Currie (2 digs), Ryan MacMullen (7 digs), Daniel Zhaneybaev (1 dig)
A tip of the hat: Neshaminy coach Patrick Klingerman had high praise for the Falcons and acknowledged that trying to contain Lukas Ricciardi was a daunting task.
“It's tough to stop,” the Redskins’ coach said. “We don't have that height to block Lukas. Kieran (Shaw) does a great job putting the ball where it needs to be.
“It's a little deflating for the guys that they know it's coming. We still can't stop it. There's no answer. And his serve was just taking us out of system. We couldn't get our middles going. Our middles were very successful during the playoff run, but we couldn’t get them going today. They run a simple offense, and they just executed better than we did today.”
Outstanding support: Lukas Ricciardi - the school’s all-time ace leader - creates impossible matchups at the net for opponents, and setting the table for his powerful kills is all-state setter Kieran Shaw, who has over 1,000 career assists and will be taking his talents to play at the Division 1 level at Merrimack College.
But they had are not in this alone.
“Other people like Deaglan (Cavanagh) and Billy (Cavanagh) have really stepped it up for us,” Fee said. “So many people have really filled in when Lukas was down. That was not happening early in the year and the middle of the year. When Lukas was down, we were going to five (sets) and just squeaking out (wins). Our team has really grown, and I’m excited about that. They really have gotten better.”
Talk to Billy Cavanagh, a tri-captain, and he doesn’t have to look any further than his twin brother, Deaglan, as an example of players stepping up this season.
“From the service line, my brother Deaglan was incredible,” Billy said. “He earned honorable mention in the SOL. He played setter for three years, started as an outside this year. He came out of nowhere. Everyone who wasn’t playing last year stepped up this year. It’s just awesome.”
It turns out Deaglan didn’t mind assuming a new role at the net.
“I was good with it,” he said. “I honestly didn’t enjoy setting. This is a lot more fun, a lot more fun.
“I feel like I’m a good athlete, and I’m a quick learner when it comes to sports in general, so the switch itself – a lot of the skills with setting translated over to hitting. Like reading the set – that was a big thing for me. It came so naturally, but a lot of the challenge was – it’s a lot more physically demanding. That’s why I’ve had my wrist taped a lot just to help out.
“Last year, we lost a couple of really, really talented pieces. The people who replaced them – that’s what’s made this season so much better. The kids on the team last year who started got better, and the kids who stepped in filled those roles so well.”
Another player who has stepped up in a new role is Colton Fee.
“We threw my son in there – he was a JV kid ninth and 10th grade,” Coach Fee said. “I knew he was a good blocker, a good server, a good defender, and he was learning at attacking. We really didn’t give him the ball much until the latter part of the season. In the playoffs, he’s hitting above .200, and for him, that’s a major feat for a player with no experience out there, so I was proud to see him do that.”
The contributions of the Falcons’ supporting cast are not lost on the team’s two stars.
“That's been huge for the whole season,” Shaw said. “There have been games where me and Lukas and Billy haven't been playing our best, and the other guys just step up. They worked really, really hard in the offseason, so it's all props to them that we did this today.”
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my guys,” Ricciardi said. “They’re up there – they’re getting their swings, which makes openings for me, makes openings for everyone. I’m loving that we can capitalize on those moments.
A seven seed in name only: The Redskins had some disappointing losses, and they paid the price with a seven seed but quickly proved they were better than that with an impressive run to Thursday’s title match where they fell to the defending district champion Falcons.
“That was a team and players that have been here before,” Klingerman said. “Our guys – it was their first trip here. Some were freshmen when we were 1-22. (Pennsbury) had returners.
“It’s a great group of guys - we’re very senior heavy. Throughout the playoffs, we were playing our best volleyball, but we ran into a buzzsaw in Lukas, and we didn’t have any answers.”
All three sets in Thursday’s title match were tightly contested. The Redskins led for the better part of the first set until the Falcons knotted the score 18-18. A Bek Baiyshbekov kill gave Neshaminy its final lead (19-18) as the Falcons went on to win 25-21 with Andrew Fouss delivering a service winner that caught the net and was not returned. .
“We opened up to a four-point lead at one point,” Klingerman said. “They fought back. We were kind of a sideout machine there. And then at 19s, they started to pull away a little bit. That definitely changes the match, especially for our guys who feed off that momentum.
“You take that first set. You get that confidence going. It kind of deflated us, took some wind out of the sail. We came out flat in the second. Fought back again, but just a little too late, unfortunately. If we come out take that first set, you never know what happens.”
The season is far from over for the Redskins, who return to action as the second seed from District 1 3A in the state tournament where they will face the District 12 champion.
“We can get some rest now before opening states on the road at District 12's winner,” Klingerman said. “I am really proud of our guys and what they have accomplished so far this year. We just ran into a buzzsaw tonight with Pennsbury. They outplayed us and we just had no answers for Lukas, who took over the game. They did a good job at getting us out of our offensive tendencies tonight, really slowed our middles down which was a strength of ours all playoff long, and we just were not connecting enough on the offensive side of the ball tonight. Congratulations to Justin and the rest of his team.”
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