Upper Merion 3, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 (29-27, 15-25, 25-14, 25-18)
PLYMOUTH MEETING - It was game point for Upper Merion in the third game of Tuesday night’s war against neighboring rival Plymouth Whitemarsh, and the packed gymnasium was rocking.
Devon Maugle – PW’s all-everything senior – rose above the net and slammed down one of those monster kills that makes opponents want to run for cover.
Except for a brave few, that is.
Upper Merion’s Devyn Ingram somehow miraculously dug the ball, and her teammates sent it back over the net. The return by Colonials went out of play, and the Vikings had won the pivotal third game to take a 2-1 lead in the grueling match.
The Vikings went on to earn a hard-fought 3-1 win (29-27, 15-25, 25-14, 25-18), and if there was a key to the game, it was the relentless defense of the Vikings, most notably Ingram, who finished the night with an astronomical total of 48 digs to go along with 22 kills.
“She was fabulous,” Viking coach Tony Funsten said of Ingram. “From beginning to end digging Maugle – she knows her, but you can know her, and you can know where it’s going and still not dig it.
“I think Devyn is probably the only kid in our league that’s going to dig Maugle. She was taking the ball off the floor, and we were getting attacks out of them.”
While Ingram led the way, her teammate – defensive libero Shannon Phillips – added 36 digs.
“They are really good at digging balls up,” Maugle said. “They’re definitely a good defensive team.”
“Their team doesn’t make many mistakes,” PW coach Michael Nguyen said of the Vikings. “They were clean defensively.”
Although official stats were unavailable for PW, Maugle – who has made a verbal commitment to accept a volleyball scholarship to the University of Connecticut – had a 30-plus kill night, but she would have traded in all of those kills for a win over the defending American Conference champs.
“It’s disappointing,” Maugle said. “I always look at it – we need to make corrections, so when we play them again, we have a better shot.
“It’s definitely frustrating coming up short.”
Game one was a classic battle between a pair of teams that simply refused to lose. The Colonials found themselves in a quick 4-0 hole after back-to-back Ingram kills, but they battled back to go on top 6-5 after an Anna Waltz service ace.
The Colonials still led 18-17 after a Maugle kill, and the Vikings burned their second timeout when – after another Maugle kill – PW went on top 20-18. PW still led by two (24-22) after a Gigi Jenkins kill.
The Vikings, however, fought off four match points and took a lead they would not lose when freshman Melanie Ingram – the younger sister of Devyn – delivered a kill.
“She grew up real fast tonight,” Funsten said. “She made some real, real important kills.
“She’s got ice water in her veins. She doesn’t know what’s important and what’s not important. She just plays.”
The Vikings won the game on a PW hit out of play.
PW responded to that loss by seizing early control of game two and rolling to a decisive 25-15 win. A highlight of the game was the five-point service run of Waltz that included three aces and propelled PW to a quick 9-2 lead. They never looked back and won it on a Jenkins kill.
“That serving run was huge,” Nguyen said. “It put them down early, and we were able to rally around that and felt really confident.”
“We definitely had control that game,” Maugle added. “We talked to each other whereas in the other games there was a lot of miscommunication.”
In game three, the Vikings went on top 4-0 only to watch PW knot the score 8-8. The Vikings led 15-11 after a Cassidy Koenig dump, and they turned an 18-13 lead into a 24-13 lead after Devyn Ingram reeled off six straight points at the service line that included back-to-back aces and another dump by the crafty Koenig. The Vikings won the game 25-14.
“In the third game, one of our players got injured,” Nguyen said of junior Alex Griffin. “Our whole team looked lost.
“I tried to play her through her injury, and she did a great job, but she was a step slow. Everyone got really hesitant and didn’t want to mess up after that. Our confidence went down.”
In game four, the Vikings opened up a 3-0 lead. The Vikings knotted the score after a Lize Keefer ace, but after a kill by freshman Casey Griffith, the Vikings led 9-4. PW pulled to within three (12-9), but the Vikings controlled play, going on to win 25-13 with Annie Lawn delivering a block in the middle for match point.
“The second game we made them feel like they could beat us, and then we took it away by beating them in the third and fourth games,” Funsten said. “They’re good, they’re a good team.
“They can hurt you with their serving, Devon (Maugle) can kill you, and their right side is dangerous. They’re exactly what I expected.”
NOTES: For the Vikings, Koenig was credited with 38 assists. Melanie Ingram had 11 kills and Heather Krick had four blocks…Upper Merion’s student section – known for its themes as much as its unwavering support – went with the nerd theme on Tuesday night. As The Vikings gave them plenty to cheer about all night long, and when the match ended, the fans joined the players for a jubilant celebration on the court.
North Penn 3, Quakertown 1 (25-20, 28-26, 16-25, 25-22)
Senior Nicole Kratz led the Maidens with 11 kills, eight digs, two aces and four assisted blocks while senior Devon Redilla added nine kills seven digs, three aces and four blocks. Alyssa Chiodo led the defense with 21 digs. She also had one ace. Setter Kendra Allen had 18 assists, four aces and four kills.
The Maidens are 5-0 in conference play and 7-0 overall.
Central Bucks South 3, Central Bucks East 0 (25-18, 25-8, 25-17)
Serving tough was the name of the game for the Titans in Tuesday’s win over East.
Giuli Frendak had a team-high eight aces, and she also had 10 kills. Abby Mummert had seven aces to go along with five kills, and setter Jenn Smith had seven aces as well as 28 assists. Ally Horvath added five aces. Megan Kaminski also had 10 kills while Kim Lorditch (two kills) and Jill Danyluck (one kill) also contributed.
“We had our senior Haley Uzelack back tonight after being out of match play and pre-season for a month,” coach Ulana Keer said. “Our young (players) handled themselves extremely well with team play tonight.
“We had an outstanding hitting and serving night by Giuli Frendak and Abby Mummert. Jenn Smith led our offense with great setting to all players. Megan Kaminski and Jayne Mulhern serve received and dug for a combined 30 passes.”
The Titans improved to 4-1 in conference play (5-1 overall).
Hatboro-Horsham 3, Norristown 0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-10)
Julie Harvey dominated play at the net with 12 kills while Kiersten Collette added five. Kelsey Baranek had 26 assists. Gab Pio contributed four aces while Julie Austin led the Hatters defensively.
Abington 3, Cheltenham 0
Liz Gassman led the Ghosts with 17 kills and 10 aces. Setter Nikki Fedorowich contributed 24 assists.
William Tennent 3, Neshaminy 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-23)
For the Redskins, Jess O’Donnell had 11 kills, 10 digs and a block. Brooke Diegel had 14 digs and three aces. Ally Warhola added six kills.
Council Rock North 3, Council Rock South 0
Bailey Dowd led the Indians with eight kills while Rachel Friedman added six kills and five aces. Dani Borgia had two kills, five aces and six digs.
Upper Dublin 3, Wissahickon 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20)
Trojan coach Marsi Fluehr-Trainor lauded the solid outings of Deanna Bianchini, Tara Rodgers, Brooke Anderson and Rachel Philpin.
Pennsbury 3, Harry S Truman 0 (25-8, 25-13, 25-14)
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