To all the action in the Pennsbury/Council Rock North match, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Two conference titles were at stake on Thursday night when Central Bucks South travelled to North Penn and Pennsbury visited neighboring Council Rock North. At the end of the night, both underdogs had pulled off big wins as Council Rock South staged a miraculous comeback to down Pennsbury 3-2, and CB South defeated North Penn 3-1.
As a result, Rock North and Pennsbury now share the top spot in the National Conference while Central Bucks South and North Penn are tied atop the Continental Conference standings.
Council Rock North 3, Pennsbury 2 (12-25, 25-17, 28-26, 25-21, 16-14)
NEWTOWN – Bailey Dowd talked about the ‘will to win.’Talking about it and living it are two vastly different things, but on Thursday night, Dowd and her Council Rock North teammates lived it, staging an improbable rally to win the pivotal third game and then gutting it out for a win that was as much about heart as it was talent.
“We wanted it so badly that it didn’t matter what they were doing – we were playing our game and pushing forward with all we had,” Dowd said. “Being seniors – my number one goal was to beat them in our gym and to have that sense of pride that we did it.
“It’s our last time playing them in this gym, and it meant everything to me. I had this burning desire to beat them, and the competitiveness took over.”
Anything less would not have been enough as the neighboring rivals entertained a spirited crowd with one gutsy, lay-it-on-the-line point after another, but if there was a stretch that defined this match, it came in the third game.
The two teams had already split the first two games, and the Falcons were poised to take a 2-1 lead in the match, opening up a 24-18 lead in game three after a Rock North service error, but Dowd – her competitive fires burning – fought off game point with a kill.
That brought senior captain Rachel Friedman to the line for the Indians. There was no margin for error. One mistake by Friedman and the Indians, and game three was in the win column for the Falcons.
“Focusing is really the key – taking a deep breath, getting back to the line and having a sense of urgency to get the ball in,” Friedman said.
Sounds easy, but it’s not.
Friedman, however, found a way to pull off the improbable, reeling off six straight points. The heartstopping span included kills by Dowd and Caroline Anderson as well as four Falcon miscues. Suddenly, an 18-24 deficit had turned into a 25-24 Indian lead.
“She is a fantastic player,” Falcon coach Tim Paulson said of Friedman. “She is driven.
“She willed that team to a win. We didn’t want her serving on us at that point. We were in a weaker rotation, our libero was out, but to give up six points like that is difficult. It’s a mental thing we have to get over because it happened to us earlier this year.”The Falcons didn’t go down quietly, regaining the upper hand after back-to-back kills by Lauren Pisauro and Juliana Slaven to go on top 26-25, but Dowd had an answer, delivering a kill that knotted the score.
“When we were making that comeback, the adrenaline took over,” Dowd said.
An Anderson service ace was followed by a winner from Emily Grundman at the middle of the net, and the Indians had earned the unlikely win.
“It’s scary,” Rock North senior captain Dani Borgia said. “We really needed to come together as a team and say, ‘We need to pick this up now.’
“We know how capable we are of beating this team or any team. You just really have to work together – make one easy pass and one easy kill and go from there.”
Down but hardly out, the Falcons opened up an early 8-4 lead in game four after a Pisauro service ace. The Indians made it a one-point game (15-14) after an Anderson winner, but the Falcons went on to take a 23-17 lead. This time there would be no heroic comebacks by the Indians as the Falcons earned a 25-21 win with Audrey Stringer finishing off the game with a kill.
That set the stage for the winner-take-all game five.
The Falcons led 4-2 after a Jae Jackson kill, but the Indians rallied to go on top 5-4 after a Friedman ace. A Falcon hitting error made it a 6-4 game, but a kill on first contact by Jen Matuza put the Falcosn on top 7-6.
A Dowd kill following a Falcon net serve gave the Indians a one-point edge. It was still a one-point game (11-10) after a Rock North passing error, but back-to-back kills by Dowd – the first just inside the end line and the second between a pair of Falcon blockers – put the Indians on top 13-10. A Stringer kill was followed by a Kelsey Moulton service ace, but a Dowd free ball fell between a throng of diving Falcons, and the Indians led 14-12. A Stringer block in the middle as well as a Slaven winner knotted the score 14-14.
A Friedman kill put the Indians on top 15-14, and that brought Friedman to the service line for match point. The senior captain – who nine aces on the night - delivered a laser serve that ricocheted off the hands of a Falcon player and out of play. The game and the match belonged to the Indians, setting off a jubilant celebration on the court and in the stands.
“We have never had a crowd like that,” Friedman said. “To have our school cheering us on like that – I don’t think we could have done it without them.”
Both Pennsbury and Rock North share the conference’s top spot – each team has one loss.
“We have been working really hard at practice on the concept of earning our points and not becoming comfortable with other teams making mistakes to give us our points,” Rock North Kinsey Lynch said. “I think the girls really came out tonight focused, and there were definite moments when we weren’t on top of our game like we normally are, but the girls came back and fought every time.”
The Falcons suffered a major setback when – late in their game one win – senior libero Katrina Ballerini hit her head on the gym floor while diving for a ball. She was lost for the night.
“She’s being re-evaluated, but the initial indication is she has a concussion and will be out for two weeks, which hurts us a lot,” Paulson said. “She is our best player.
“We almost cut her last year, but she has responded so well to our coaching and what we try and tell her, and we have been talking – she’s the absolute best player we’ve got. When you lose a player like that, it hurts.
“We didn’t lose because of her. Council Rock played really, really well. We had our chances. We had a great chance to win (the third game), but we let it slip away.”
Lynch credited the Falcons for coming back strong despite the loss of Ballerini.“I have to be honest – the girl that stepped in for their libero I thought played amazing,” the Indians’ coach said. “We just knew we had to work hard strategy-wise and placing the ball in the right spot. We just had to work better on the fundamentals of the game in order to win. That’s what it usually comes down to in a five-game match – basic fundamentals.”
All but lost in the shuffle of the big kills and blistering serves was the standout defensive effort of Borgia, who undoubtedly established a new school record with 51 digs in a monster performance at libero.
“It’s scary,” she said. “I never know if I’m going to get the ball up or not, so I just throw my body and hope that I touch the ball. The more I practice, the better I get at it, and I’m still practicing, and I’m still getting better.”
Borgia clutched a gourd she had received from assistant coach Lisa Stark for collecting the most digs on the night.
“I’ll probably put it on my shelf,” the Indians’ senior libero said.
Not far away, Friedman was holding a pumpkin as well as a gourd – she’d won the pumpkin for forcing the Falcons to call a timeout during her remarkable serving run and the gourd for collecting the most aces. Dowd was clutching the biggest prize of the night – a long-necked, green-striped pumpkin.
“We all have goals coming into the match,” Dowd said. “Mine was definitely most kills. You always want one of these.”
Credit the pumpkins and the will to win with propelling the defending champion Indians to the big win.
NOTES: Dowd turned in a stellar 25-kill effort to go along with 12 digs. Friedman had 13 kills, 29 digs and nine services aces in an all-around superb outing. Setter Amy Malakoff had 40 assists…for the Falcons, Pisauro and Stringer each had seven kills. Stringer also had six blocks while Pisauro had three aces. Kelsey Moulton had a team-high 12 digs and three aces while Amanda Pace, Jen Matuza and Juliana Slaven each had 10 digs.
Central Bucks South 3, North Penn 1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25)
Ulana Keer called it ‘the most amazing event ever for CB South volleyball.’
The Titans’ coach wasn’t exaggerating.
The Titans traveled to North Penn and handed the Maidens their first league loss of the season, setting up a two-way tie at the top of the league standings heading into the season’s final week-and-a-half.
“I’m very proud of the girls,” Keer said.
The Titans’ coach went on to tip her hat to the Maidens.
“I want to give credit to North Penn,” she said. “Bryan Yost is a good coach. I respect him, and I certainly want to speak up for number 7, Devon Redilla. She did everything she could to hit the ball and step up for her team.
“Their setter, Kendra (Allen), is a very good athlete and a very smart player, and they’re tough, but by far, out of all the teams that I’ve coached – and I’m going back to 1990 when I was at CB West, I have to say this is the most athletic, most talented group of kids I have ever coached. They’re volleyball smart, they’re good in school, and their parents are great. There are a lot of things going on besides the kids being great volleyball players.”
The Titans won it behind a standout serving game that was led by Jenn Smith, who did not miss any of her 20 serves. It was Smith who stepped to the service line with the Titans trailing 24-20 in the pivotal third game after each team had one a game.
“Jenn went back, and she took her time with every serve,” Keer said. “She thought about what she had to do. She did a great job.”
Smith had one ace. Catherine Fayer had a pair of aces while Abby Mummertz, Giuli Frendak and Ally Horvath also each had one ace.
“I don’t think our game plan necessitate aces,” Keer said. “(We) just needed to get balls not going to targets for North Penn to take them out of a hitting groove.”
The Titans also were strong when it came to serve receive.
“Meghan Kaminski had 25 perfect passes, Jayne Mulhern tallied 30 perfect passes, and Giuli Frendak had 10,” Keer said. “Ally Horvath and Catherine Fayer each had nine perfect passes.”
Mummert had seven solo blocks while Meghan Kaminski had eight. Jilly Danyluk had three block assists, and Kim Lorditch and Haley Uzelac both had two block assists.
Smith, the Titans’ setter, had 46 assists, and Kaminski delivered a career-high 25 kills. Mummert added 10 kills and Frendak, five kills. Lordith had four kills and Uzelac, two kills.
In one exciting night of SOL volleyball action, both CB South and CR North – reveling in their roles of underdogs – came up with huge wins.
“Kudos to Council Rock North,” Keer said. “I’m happy they were able to do the same thing we did tonight. It’s not often that this kind of thing happens, and we were both able to do it on the same night. We did it in four, and they did it in five.
“North Penn is a great team. They will give someone a hard time, and I’m very proud to share a title with them. We have two matches left, and they’re biggies. We have to get through those matches before we can talk about anything else.”
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