To view game action photos, visit the photo gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
DOYLESTOWN – Late in the first game of Monday night’s SOL match against Central Bucks West, Quakertown’s Brent Landis saw his kill attempt at the net blocked by a pair of West defenders.Not a problem.
When the Panthers’ outside hitter received the set on the ensuing return, he saw the Bucks’ block rising up again, but this time Landis deftly tipped it over the outstretched hands of both players for a point that put the Panthers on top 21-15.
“It’s basically playing smart and seeing where the blockers are and where the openings are on the court and placing it in the openings,” he said.
It was a play that effectively summed up the night for both teams as Landis and the Panthers found all the openings while the Bucks didn’t. The end result was a convincing 3-0 Quakertown win in the SOL opener for both teams (25-20, 25-18, 25-14).
“Especially in the beginning of the season, a win like this is important,” Landis said. “It’s a confidence builder for the next game. Hopefully, this will carry through to our next game.”
Things figure to get a whole lot tougher for the Panthers on Wednesday when they will face defending Continental Conference champion Pennridge, and on Thursday, the Panthers will take on neighboring Souderton.But for one night, they were enjoying a win that saw them operating on all cylinders.
“I was pleased with the team effort,” Quakertown coach Andy Snyder said. “In the scrimmages so far and the Haverford Tournament, there was always one part of the game that just stood out as a weakness.
“Tonight, we played well all the way around. Our passing had been suspect coming into the game, but tonight we had a solid passing effort. Everybody played as a team. We had a lot more energy tonight than I had seen them play with before.”
Landis and fellow captain Mike Stover led the Panthers’ attack with 11 kills each. Landis also served for 11 points without an error while teammate Donnie Thomas served for 13 points with no service miscues.
“Earlier in the season, we would miss six or seven serves a game,” said Thomas, who also contributed an ace. “We really worked hard on that at practice – our spots on our serves, and today it worked for us. Everyone seemed to be on tonight.”
West coach Andy Douglas couldn’t say the same for his squad.
“I was just talking to them – as they left the court, they always do the same ritual,” he said. “We have done it for three weeks now, and tonight they forgot what we were doing.
“I said, ‘You guys aren’t focused. You aren’t ready,’ and Quakertown is a good team. We played in a really tough tournament this weekend (the Hempfield Tournament), and I thought it would help, but you have to give Quakertown credit. They played really well, and they had an answer for everything we did. They made it hard for us to get our work done.”The Panthers opened up an early 8-5 after a West net serve, and they led 12-8 after another Buck service miscue. A David Dowdy kill made it a three-point game, and it was a 12-10 game after an errant pass on serve receive.
A Stover kill set the stage for a 4-1 Quakertown run that included an Ian Jones kill as well as another Stover kill that put the Panthers on top 16-11. A Dowdy tip made it a four-point game, but Stover answered with a kill, and then Thomas dumped the ball over the net for a winner, putting the Panthers on top 18-12 and prompting Douglas to call a quick timeout.
Landis answered with a kill out of the timeout, and then Thomas delivered another dump that fell in for a winner, and the Panthers led 20-12.
“If (the pass) is a little high and I can’t really set it, I just change the direction of it, and it’s sort of an easy kill because they’re not really expecting it,” Thomas said.
Thomas ended up with three kills as he turned passes that were too high or too tight to the net into winners for the Panthers.
“He has been on the court for three years and our starting setter the last two years, so we always looked to him if there was a bad pass,” Snyder said. “He has been around the game long enough.
“He knows how to mix it up and get the ball out to his weapons.”The Bucks pulled to within five (21-16) but never seriously threatened as Stover put the finishing touches on the contest with a kill for game point.
In game two, the Bucks took a quick 3-0 lead after a Connor Logan service ace, but a Stover ace into the back corner made it a 4-4 game. The two teams were still deadlocked 8-8, but a block by Chris Long at the middle of the net put the Panthers on top 9-8.
It was still a one-point game (13-12) after a Dowdy kill, but the Panthers answered with a 7-1 run to seize control of the game.
“So far this season we’re trying to teach them about runs,” Douglas said. “Our runs are two points, and our opponent’s runs are seven.
“That’s a pattern. A lot of teams we’re playing are able to get multiple points in a row, but we’re not able to get runs.”
Game three belonged to the Panthers, who opened up a quick 7-2 lead and never looked back.
“To be honest, it’s a lack of focus,” Douglas said. “We started out passing bad, and we ended the game up blocking bad. “There were a lot of things in between there, but I don’t think they were focused and ready to go.”
The match ended with a resounding Stover kill that ricocheted off a pair of would-be West blockers and fell harmlessly behind the Quakertown bench.
“It felt like everything started to click,” Landis said. “In our preseason games, our hits were going out, but tonight, everything seemed to click.”
“They’re making adjustments, and they’re playing smart,” Snyder said. “Most of these guys were on the team last year – we only graduated one starter, so they all got playing time.
“We have some experience now, and we’re gaining confidence.”
The Panthers will need that confidence when they take the court against the defending district runner-up Rams on Wednesday night at home.
“This past Saturday we were in a tournament, and we were on and off, we were inconsistent,” Thomas said. “Today we finally turned it around and played as one.
“It was just finally consistent volleyball. It’s good to get it going because we have two tough games this week against Pennridge and Souderton. It’s good to start the season off with a win. Hopefully, the wins will keep coming.”
West setter Jakob Mueller had 27 assists. Defensively, the Bucks were led by Michael Fehrs with 11 digs while libero Scott Finch had six digs.
- Log in to post comments
0
