Pennsbury and Council Rock South entered Monday night’s SOL showdown tied atop the National Conference standings. Both teams had one loss.
By the time the night was over, it was the Falcons – thanks to their 3-0 win over the Golden Hawks (25-12, 25-20, 25-18) – alone at the top.
“Our whole team played well,” Pennsbury coach Tim Paulson said. “That’s a big key to us being successful is that everybody plays well, that we’re balanced and there’s no glaring weaknesses that other teams can exploit.
“Individually, some people had big numbers, but a lot of that has to do with the people who touched the ball before them doing a great job.”
Drew Jolly and Brittany Bigos paced the Falcons’ attack with 10 kills each. Eve Pellitteri had eight aces and five digs in a standout effort. Defensive libero Stacey Wooden had 11 digs while Bigos had eight, and it was the Falcons’ serving and passing that may have been the difference in the match.
“People serve to Stacey Wooden,” Paulson said. “If I was playing our team, I wouldn’t serve to her, so I want to thank them for serving to her because she’s a great passer.
“Serving and passing is the majority of the game. The team that serves the passes the best is probably going to win.”
While Pennsbury’s win gives the Falcons the upper hand in the National Conference title hunt, the Continental Conference crown is still very much up for grabs. As a matter of fact, things got a whole lot more complicated, thanks to Souderton 3-0 sweep of Central Bucks East (25-19, 26-24, 25-14).
“That team just has our number,” East coach Eric Headley said of an Indian squad that has handed the Patriots their only two league losses.
As a result of Souderton’s win, the Indians, Patriots and Quakertown – which defeated North Penn in five games on Monday - are locked in a three-way tie for first. All three teams have two losses.
While East needs to defeat Abington, Central Bucks West and Central Bucks South to ensure itself a piece of the title, Souderton and Quakertown will meet in a huge showdown in the final match of the season next Tuesday.
“We're still are in a good place,” Headley said. “We just can’t fall asleep against those teams.”
In Monday’s match, the Patriots struggled against an Indian squad that received a boost from the return of Jess Coll to the net. The Indians’ senior outside hitter was limited to playing back row defense as she recuperated from a back injury.
“We’re back in the flow,” senior Devon Sparks said. “She’s a big part of our team, and it’s a comfort thing. Since she’s back, we feel like we have more potential.”
With Coll back at the net, the Indians had just too many weapons. Sparks led a balanced attack with 12 kills. Coll and Jennie Mariani each had seven kills.
“I think we came to play,” Souderton coach Brad Garrett said. “It was a game we knew we had to win, and having Jess back lifted everyone’s spirits.”
Garrett pointed to the return of Jen Parmer to the middle after filling in for Coll on the outside as a key to the Indians’ strong showing.
“One of the big differences between tonight and the way we have been playing was we got a lot of really nice touches at the net,” the Indians’ first-year coach said. “We had nine stuff blocks, but there was probably another 20 that we touched and slowed down so (libero) Bri (McMichael) could really get behind the ball and dig it.
“I thought we served tough. We didn’t look flashy but served good float serves that kept them off balance.”
After winning game one, the Indians opened up a 10-3 lead in game two only to watch the Patriots come roaring back. They knotted the score at 19-19 and had game point after a kill by Grace Patterson put them on top 24-23, but a hit out of play set the stage for two more East hitting miscues as the Indians eked out a 26-24 win.
The third game belonged to the Indians from the outset, and they won the match on a Parmer kill.
With two league matches remaining, the Indians control their own destiny.
“We are so excited, especially after our last two seasons,” senior setter Sam Terrell said. “Last year was a disappointment, and the year before that with one win – that was rough.
“It’s nice, especially for my senior year to go out with a bang.”
Sophomore libero Brianna McMichael led the Indians’ defense with 17 digs. Teammates Coll, Sparks and Amy Brown each had five digs.
In the American Conference, Upper Merion has all but sewn up another title. The Vikings hold a two-game lead over Hatboro-Horsham, and the Hatters – who extended the Vikings to five games in the last meeting - are the lone team that has shown the ability to play with the defending champions.
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