Three of the nine SOL teams in action were winners in Tuesday night’s opening round of the District One AAA Tournament. To view action photos of the Hatboro/CB West match, please visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
#12 HATBORO-HORSHAM 3, #21 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-12)
The Bucks hung tough in the first game of Tuesday night’s match, but the Hatters had too much firepower.
“They came out strong, and we knew they were going to,” Hatboro coach Kathy Tanner said. “They’re definitely a strong defensive team, and we knew we would have to work hard for every point, which we did in the first game. There were a lot of long rallies that could have gone either way and did go either way.
“In the second game, they were still digging a lot of the balls, but then they slowly lost their momentum.”
The Hatters were led at the net by Kathryn Lucca with 11 kills and Carly Black with 10 kills.
“Our outside hitters did a nice job,” Tanner said. “When you see the stats, they weren’t necessarily true attacks. They were just very strategically placing the ball.”
Lauren Laucella and Candyce Riley led a strong service game for the Hatters with five service aces each.
“As a team, everybody served aggressively, which was really important because we knew they were a good passing team,” Tanner said.
Defensively, Ciatlin Klotzbach led the way with nine digs. Sam Jones dished out 29 assists.
For West, Rachel Baker and Caroline Hauck had six kills each while Alicia West had four kills. Maddie Klun had five blocks, and Hauck led the team defensively with nine digs. Jess West had a total of 16 assists.
While the Hatters will face Garnet Valley in a second round match on Thursday, the Bucks closed out the season with a 13-4 record – a remarkable turnaround from last year’s 5-10 record.
#18 UNIONVILLE 3, #15 NORTH PENN 1 (14-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-16)
Brian Yost was stunned. So were his players. Nothing had prepared any of them for Tuesday’s heartbreaking ending in a match they believed they could have and should have won.
“We really wanted it,” senior captain Kendra Allen said, fighting back tears. “I don’t really know what happened. They were a good team, but we hustled and played our hearts out.
“It’s really disappointing to end like this. It’s my last game of the season as a senior. We were a really good team. We just let our confidence down – we shouldn’t let that happen. It was sad to end like this.”
It certainly looked as though the Maidens were on their way to seizing control when – with the match tied 1-1 – they opened up a 24-20 lead after a Meg Gallagher kill in the third set. That’s when the unexpected happened as the Indians, benefitting from some big plays of their own as well as some Maiden miscues, reeled off six unanswered points to steal the win.
“I didn’t expect that to happen,” Yost said. “It felt like the girls just stopped believing they were going to be able to beat them.
“Especially after the timeouts we called – they went out, and it was the same emotions. We called two timeouts, and not one bit of emotion changed.”
Perhaps that absence of emotion went all the way back to the first game of Tuesday’s match. The Maidens – without working up a sweat – sprinted to a 10-1 lead. They led 15-5 after an Isabelle Kerr kill on their way to a convincing 25-14 win. Meg Gallagher closed out the game with a kill.
The Maidens received a major assist from the Indians in the win, benefitting from numerous hitting errors and four rotation violations.
Things changed rather dramatically in game two as the Indians came to life, opening up a 13-6 lead after back-to-back aces on their way to the 25-18 win.
The Maidens appeared to regain momentum as they led for the better part of game three. They went on top 4-1 after a Stephanie Elechko kill, and they led 16-12 after another Elechko kill. The Indians made it a 17-16 game after a Maiden hit out of play, but the Maidens rallied to go on top 22-17. They led 23-18 after a Kathryn Elechko winner and still led 24-20 after a Gallagher kill.
That’s when the game and the match began slipping away as the Indians – despite a pair of Yost timeouts - reeled off six straight points to earn the stunning win.
The Maidens never recuperated.
“We have been telling them all year they have to ride out the highs,” Yost said. “When we’re screaming and cheering every point, no one can stop them. I haven’t seen a team yet that can stop them when they’re playing like that.
“When they let the unforced errors take over their brains, it’s over. There’s no getting out of it. Unionville knew it. They were celebrating every point. They knew they had us 10 points before it was over.
“You don’t want to leave the gym knowing you lost the game. You want to walk out of the gym knowing you got beaten, but tonight we lost the game. It hurts – this one hurts.”
Elechko had a big game at the net, contributing 16 kills as well as three aces on a night when she was battling a 101-degree fever. Allen had 31 assists while junior defensive libero Alyssa Chioodo had 25 digs.
#8 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, #25 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 (25-20, 25-6, 25-16)
Freshman setter Kaitlyn Kushman dished out 28 assists. She also had eight aces and three digs. Senior Giuli Frendak had six kills, two aces and 13 passes. Catherine Fayer had three aces while Jayne Mulhern had six passes and one ace. Abby Mummert contributed six kills, four aces and 10 passes, and Jill Danyluk had five assists and four kills. Lauren Wise had four blocks while teammate Jax Babeski had four kills and nine aces. Megan Kaminski had two aces and one kill.
As a result of the win, the Titans have earned a date with ninth-seeded Pennsbury in Thursday’s second round. The Titans swept the Falcons 3-0 in the regular season finale for both squads last Thursday.
“We are looking forward to our next match at home,” coach Ulana Keer said. “The girls played mentally tough tonight, making sure that we were all about performing and showing what we can do.”
#9 PENNSBURY 3, #24 GWYNEDD-MERCY 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-12)
The Falcons, according to coach Tim Paulson, got off to a slow start, giving away points with five service errors in game one – four early in the game. They came back to earn the convincing sweep.
Lauren Pisauro led the Falcons with seven kills and two aces while teammate Jae Jackson had five kills. Setter Paige Misawic had 21 assists. Olivia Aizen led the Falcons from the service line with five aces.
#4 STRATH HAVEN 3, #29 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-11)
#16 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 3, #17 WILLIAM TENNENT 1
#11 VILLA MARIA ACADEMY 3, #22 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
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