HOLLAND – Luke Pinto wants the ball.
With a berth at states hanging in the balance when the Indians took the court to do battle with Council Rock North in Thursday night’s District One AAA playback game, Souderton’s senior outside hitter wanted to take his swings.
“Luke has the ability to take over a game and put a team on his back,” Souderton coach Brad Garrett said. “All season, he has had a way of coming up with kills when we needed them.”
It was appropriate that Pinto capped another big performance with a kill for match point as the Big Red defeated Rock North 3-1 in a spirited match at Council Rock South High School (26-24, 25-18, 11-25, 26-24).
The win gave the Indians – after missing out on last year’s PIAA Tournament - a coveted berth in states.
“When I was a sophomore, there was no pressure on me,” Pinto said of his first trip to states. “I was pretty much going along for the ride. I got in there when they needed me.
“This year, the pressure was on us. I knew we had to come out with a big game or we weren’t going to make it to states. I want to go out going to states.”
Pinto will get his wish, thanks in no part to his 22-kill, 11-dig performance.
“You have to go out there and want the ball,” he said. “I don’t want my year to end, and you have to do everything you can.
“Tonight, it wasn’t me. It was (middle hitter) Chris Kluka calling for the ball every play, drawing the blocker in. Jeff Bishop, the same thing. It was a whole team effort. It made my job easier, and I took advantage of it.”
Pinto’s final kill of the night – which set off a jubilant celebration on the court – was not quite as emphatic as he had hoped. It came on the second of two attempts after Rock North somehow dug up his first attempt.
“I put everything into that ball,” Pinto said of his initial kill attempt. “I forget who dug it, but I was so angry. I wanted to go out with a bang.
“The next set was a little bit off. I hit it like a little girl, but that rush when everyone was running onto the court – there’s nothing like it, nothing like it.”
Senior Jeff Bishop had 10 kills and two stuff blocks in a solid supporting role while Christian Benner had another superb defensive effort with 25 digs.
“He’s just an anchor for us,” Garrett said of Benner. “He’s one of the best naturally instinctive players I have coached defensively.”
A.J. Androkites had nine digs and Jake Shoemaker, eight digs.
Rock North coach Mike Flaherty pointed to Souderton’s defensive effort as the difference in the match.
“At the end of the night, I said to them, ‘You look at a game at the high school level, and you’ll see a team will dominate in blocking or serving. Both teams were neutralizing each other. The difference, I believe, was they were willing to get to balls that were spiked and would have hit the floor, but they dug them up. They spiked at us, and we weren’t willing to dig those balls up,’” Flaherty said. “They were willing to do the extra things.”
For Rock North, junior Hunter Stevens had 17 kills while senior Niall Hannagen had 12 kills and Ryan Garven, 10 kills. Defensively, libero Ross Denkin had 25 digs, Dan Ford had 20 digs while John Whitman added 19 digs.
“I just said to the seniors, ‘You have given this next generation of kids a lot of momentum,’” Flaherty said. “It’s hard to get to this district level, and when you’re there, you have to find a way to win.”
In game one, the Big Red opened up a 10-7 lead only to watch Rock North go on top 15-14 after a Stevens block. A Hannagen kill gave Rock North a 19-17 lead, and it was still a two-point game (20-18) after a Stevens kill.
Rock North led 24-21 after a back row kill by Stevens, but the Indians couldn’t finish it out.Bishop delivered a kill for Souderton, and it was a one-point game after a Rock North hitting error. A Cody Leatherman winner knotted the score, and Souderton won it after a pair of Rock North hitting miscues.
Game two saw Rock North open up a 10-4 lead after a Stevens block, but again the Big Red rallied. Souderton led 13-12 after a Shoemaker service ace. A Kluka kill put Souderton on top 19-15 on its way to the 25-18 win.
Rock North took charge in game three, turning a 5-5 tie into a 12-5 lead as Ford served for six straight points. Souderton pulled to within six but would get no closer the rest of the way as Rock North rolled to the big win that was capped by a Garven kill for game point.
Souderton showed its heart in game four, once again rallying from an early 10-4 deficit to pull to within one after a Pinto kill (14-13).
“We got really nervous,” Pinto said. “You never want to get into a five-game match with a team as good as Council Rock North because it’s just a coin flip pretty much in that last game.
“We wanted to get it done while we were still in the lead.”
Rock North went back on top 19-14 but couldn’t finish off the Big Red. A Kluka kill was followed by a Bishop kill, and Souderton was off and running as Benner served for seven straight points that culminated with an ace to put the Big Red on top 22-19.
Rock North rallied to go on top 23-22 after a Souderton hit in the net, but Shoemaker delivered a kill to knot the score.
“He showed a lot of maturity,” Garrett said of his senior co-captain. “He wasn’t making approaches and was tentative, so I took him out of the game, and he came through huge for us with some big kills for us in the last game.”
Rock North went on top 24-23 after a Whitman dump, but a serving miscue knotted the score. Bishop delivered a big block to put the Big Red on top by one, setting the stage for Pinto’s kill for match point.
Souderton will face the District 3 champion in the opening round of states on Tuesday night.
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