They had a feeling this season could be something special.
They were right.
The Upper Merion volleyball squad laid claim to its first ever District One AAA Tournament crown with its 3-0 sweep of Unionville (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) in Saturday’s title match at Spring-Ford High School.
“We have been waiting for this for quite some years,” said captain Lisa Ridgeway, a four-year varsity veteran. “We just felt the stars kind of aligned this year, and we had each of the parts of the whole. We knew this was our year.”
“It’s an awesome feeling,” senior captain Kim Landmesser added. “It’s absolutely mind blowing. We have been waiting for this for so long.
“I expected success this year, but winning districts is insane. It’s amazing. I can’t explain how happy I am.”
No one – not even the most optimistic Viking fan – could have predicted a district playoff run that saw Upper Merion roll through four matches without a loss.
“We never tried to predict what we were going to do,” senior captain Kate DeLone said. “We tried to be hopeful and just worked hard and worked towards a goal. We didn’t really set standards for ourselves as much as we set goals for us to work toward.”
If you’re counting, the Vikings are 12-0 in the district playoffs, and that is no small accomplishment against a field that included Plymouth Whitemarsh, Pennsbury, Avon Grove and Unionville.
“They’re very, very talented teams,” Landmesser sad. “We just focus on our defense. Defense wins championships.
“Mr. Funsten always tells us to get our first swings in, our first serves in and make the little plays. We have been making the little plays, and it’s really helped us.”
DeLone, the Vikings’ defensive libero, had a monster match against Unionville, finishing the night with 25 digs.
The senior captain pointed to her team’s touches at the net as a key to her stellar performance.
“The first part of our defense that a lot of people don’t comment about is our blocking because they’re intimidating, and they’re so powerful, and it makes it a lot easier for us to get the digs that we need and to eliminate their (big) hits,” DeLone said.
Coach Tony Funsten credited the blocking of Ridgeway, Alex Galdi and Devyn Ingram. Ingram had three blocks kills while the trio combined to put back 12 more.
“It’s hard even for me to understand how they do it,” DeLone said. “Avon Grove was six foot-plus (across the net), and our tallest player is 5-9. It’s amazing.”
Ridgeway, who is generously listed as 5-10, insists it’s not about size.
“I think it’s all about timing,” she said. “I don’t jump really high, but my teammates and I jump high enough to get our hands above the net. We have to have better timing, and we try to get at least a touch on the ball. A touch is better than no touch at all.”
Ridgeway also had 14 digs, Ingram 10 and Cassidy Koenig, nine.
At the net, Galdi led the Vikings with 11 kills – seven in the pivotal second game that saw the Vikings rally from a 17-14 deficit to go on top 21-17 and featured a huge Ridgeway serving run.
“We have shown the ability to come back,” Funsten said. “We’re capable of doing those kinds of things at any moment. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn’t.”
As impressive as that comeback was against Unionville even more impressive was the way the Vikings rallied from a nine-point deficit in game two of the semis against Avon Grove to earn the sweep.
“We focus on the little things a lot,” Ridgeway said. “Instead of looking at the big match, we look at the next point. Rather than saying, ‘Let’s go to the next game,’ we focus on each point.”
That uncanny knack of staying in games that appear to be lost has perhaps as much to do with camaraderie as it does with talent. These players like each other, and it shows.
“We have confidence in ourselves and in each other,” Ridgeway said. “We all appreciate each other’s skills and each other’s strengths as a team.”
“We love playing together,” Landmesser said. “We get along really great, and it’s so much fun. If you don’t get along with your team – your whole system gets out of whack.
“A big part is that you’re confident in your teammates, knowing they’ll be there when you need them.”
The players also know how to have fun and admit they have their rituals and superstitions.
“I think that’s what helps us succeed,” Ridgeway said.
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The Vikings, who won the District AA title in 2004, lost to Merion Mercy in the Class AA semis in each of the last three years. The tide turned in their favor when they moved to Class AAA.
“We have been building for this,” Funsten said. “We have had ninth graders start varsity for the last seven or eight years.”
This year’s freshman starter is yet another gifted volleyball player in Cassidy Koenig. Sophomore Devin Ingram, juniors Elizabeth DiValerio and Alex Galdi and senior Lisa Ridgeway all started as freshmen as well.
“There’s a mix of young and old, but there’s tremendous experience,” Funsten said. “Cassidy Koenig is one of the most experienced players on the team as a ninth grader. She’s been playing at such a high level for such a long time.
“She knew these kids, and they knew her. It’s not like we had to integrate her.”
Koenig and Landmesser share setting duties, and Funsten says he can put as many as four players on the court who can set - all of whom could and undoubtedly would start for another team.
“That gives us ball control,” the Vikings’ coach said. “We almost always have someone giving someone else a chance to hit the ball or make the play.”
Ingram, according to Funsten, is a natural outside hitter, but she’s more than willing to play in the middle.
“Devyn is sacrificing for the team, and that’s what this whole team is about,” the Vikings’ coach said. “They’re doing a really wonderful job, and that’s what our team is about – meshing, playing well together, playing off each other.”
And therein lies the key to this squad’s district title run.
“It’s teamwork,” DeLone said. “It’s all about playing as a team. If you’re not all in it together, if you don’t have that blend, you won’t be successful.
“I think this year it’s finally the right mix of people, it’s the right mix of personalities and how it combines, and this has just been the year for us to really succeed.”
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