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LOWER GWYNEDD – Jackie Davies didn’t spare any punches after her Council Rock North volleyball team was defeated by top-seeded Bishop Shanahan 3-1 in Saturday night’s District One Class AAA championship match (25-16, 16-25, 25-19, 25-18).“They found our weak spots,” the Indians’ senior setter said. “I think one of our weak spots is defense – the deeper corners, and they really targeted our weak areas.
“They’re a very smart team.”
There were stretches during the match when the Indians played toe-to-toe with the high-powered Eagles, most notably in a second game they won by a decisive margin.
“I felt as though we were talking more,” Davies said. “We were working more as a unit. We never wanted a ball to drop, and we were on our toes.”The Eagles came back to win the third game, and in a must-win fourth game for the Indians, Shanahan jumped out to a 10-4 lead, and the tone had been set.
“It’s all about momentum,” teammate Bailey Dowd said. “When we had the momentum, we were putting balls down. We were really aggressive, hitting the ball hard, and we were smart with our decisions and playing as a team.
“When things weren’t going our way – if one little thing falls off, then the whole thing doesn’t work. Their offense is really, really strong, and their defense is really good. When you find two things, it’s hard to stop a team and it’s hard to put balls down.”
The Eagles went on top 13-6, but the Indians threatened to make it interesting after Dowd delivered a kill to make it a 15-10 game. They pulled to within four (17-13) only to watch the Eagles reel off three straight points before Friedman delivered a kill for Rock North.
A Davies service ace was followed by a Friedman kill after a riveting volley to make it a 21-17 game, but the Indians would get no closer the rest of the way.“They have a very strong offense, and they always seem to be able to find the hole in the blocking to find the hole on the floor,” said assistant coach Gina Martson, who was filling in for coach Kinsey Lynch. “It makes playing defense really difficult.
“They definitely dominated at the net, but it was a great learning lesson for us. When we go to states, we’ll be thinking about plays like that, and we’ll be able to get to them much quicker.”
The Indians may have lost, but they put their names in the record books as the first Council Rock North squad to ever earn a berth in the district championship game. While their medals might have been silver, their effort was golden.
“The girls fought hard,” Marston said. “They really were digging deep and trying to find everything they could to come up strong and win those points. They just dominated a little bit on offense.”
The Indians’ season isn’t over yet. They will begin play in the PIAA Class AAA Tournament on Tuesday in an opening round match.
“This is good practice going into states,” Davies said. “They’re one of the top teams.”
“It is a good experience before we go to states,” Dowd added. “I think we needed to experience a loss and know that we needed to bounce back right away from it.
“I think we have the capability to do that. We did it after we lost to Pennsbury, we did it after we lost to Merion Mercy. We know how to experience this, and we’ll be ready on Tuesday.
Davies had 33 assists and 18 digs. Sarah Kiely led the attack with 14 kills while Rachel Friedman had 11 kills and 16 digs and Dowd, six kills, four blocks and seven digs. Caroline Anderson had eight kills and 12 digs.
Hatboro-Horsham 3, St. Basil 2
The Hatters found themselves in a war for third place when they took the court to face a St. Basil squad that has come on strong in the post season in Saturday’s third place game at Wissahickon. The Hatters might have thought they were in for an easy time of it when they rolled to a 25-15 win in game one, but the Panthers battled back to win the next two by identical 26-24 scores.
Down but not out, the Hatters rolled to a resounding 25-8 win in game four, setting the stage for the winner-take-all fifth game that was won by the Hatters 15-10.
Julie Harvey led the Hatters with 19 kills, six solo blocks and 13 digs. Ashley Morgan had 19 kills and 13 digs while setter Lauren Schmickle had 56 assists.
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