Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ volleyball teams in action Thursday. CR South/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.
SOL National
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3, BENSALEM 0
Julia Walton – like all athletes in these uncertain times - knew the cold reality existed that her team’s volleyball season could end at any moment as the Indians embarked on the season.
“It was definitely a thought that crossed our minds that any game we played could be our last, so we were not taking any second for granted,” the Council Rock North senior said. “We were going into every practice, every game thinking, ‘This could be the last time we’re all playing together, so let’s make the most of it.’”
So it wasn’t a complete surprise when Walter and her teammates received word that their season would be halted due to cases of COVID-19 in the school.
“It was still hard to hear as much as we were preparing ourselves for it,” Walton said. “And it was definitely nerveracking that Tuesday last week when we found out our season was halted indefinitely. It was especially hard for the seniors. We were all texting and very worried that that was the last time some of us were going to be playing.
“A lot of our coaches and teachers have been saying – we can’t worry about things that are out of our control, so we were all just trying to stay positive and hope that our season was going to come back, and thank goodness it did, but it was definitely difficult that whole week when we didn’t know what was going to happen, but it was reassuring to know that our school was doing everything they could to get our season back on track, and everyone wanted us to be playing, so it was nice to know we had people on our side fighting for us, and we ultimately got back on the court.”
The Indians took on the Owls Thursday in their first game back.
“It was an indescribable feeling, thinking we were going to have it taken away completely, and then to be back on the court, it was just so nice,” Walton said. “I feel like people underestimate and don’t understand how playing a sport can really have a positive impact on kids. Even just mentally, let alone physically, and so being able to be back out there with my best friends on the team, it was so amazing.”
Showing no ill effects from the layoff, the Indians rolled to a sweep of the Owls.
Leading a balanced effort were junior outside hitter Ashleigh Adams with 12 kills, 11 digs and three aces, senior outside hitter Mary Baniewicz (seven kills, 10 digs, three aces) and senior middle hitter Julia Walton (six kills, one ace, two blocks, five digs). Junior setter Kate Logan handed out 19 assists and also had seven digs, one ace and one block. Senior libero Mikayla Adams contributed nine digs, four assists, two aces and one kill. Also contributing were senior opposite hitter Cora Lake (two kills, four digs), senior middle hitter Sabrina Pasemann (one kill, three digs), sophomore opposite hitter Ainsley Jordan (two kills, two aces, six digs, one assist), junior setter Becca Wintjan (one kill, one ace, one dig, two assists), junior middle hitter Bella Sloth (one kill), junior outside hitter (Julia Murphy (three digs, one assist).
With the win, Council Rock North upped its record to 7-0.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, PENNSBURY 2 (25-18, 18-25, 23-25, 25-11 16-14)
The Golden Hawks used a superb team effort to edge the defending conference champion Falcons in five grueling sets, rallying to win the last two after the Falcons opened up a 2-1 advantage.
Ava Paulson led the Hawks’ service game with six aces and two very long service runs. She also had 18 assists and six kills. Katie Rodman played solid defense, finishing with 20 digs and nine assists. Eden Kauer (11 kills, one ace, eight digs), Kyleigh Bowman (10 kills, five digs) and Alissa Helverson (10 kills, five digs, three blocks, 15 assists) all finished with double-digit kills. Emma Helverson added two aces, three digs, three blocks and three kills while Avery Vaughan had three kills and four blocks.
For the Falcons, Izzy Marinelli had a monster night at the net, finishing with 32 kills to go along with eight blocks, eight digs and five aces. Janae Scott added seven kills and four blocks. Kat Croteau contributed three kills, two aces and seven digs. Setter Carissa Van Veen had 38 assists, 15 digs and two kills. Grace Sobey (14 digs) and Keira Rogan (11 digs, four kills, two blocks) helped anchor the defense. Ava Sciolla had three kills and Kira Sendlock added two aces and one dig.
SOL Continental
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 3, QUAKERTOWN 0
The Bucks used a balanced team effort to earn a sweep of the Panthers.
Mackenzie Lund led the attack with seven kills and two blocks. Alexis Barklage added three kills and three blocks, and Brie Livezey had three kills, one ace and four digs. Maggie McCusker finished with 13 assists, two kills and seven digs. Jordyn Klementovich led the defense with 13 digs and three aces. Sydney White added four aces and two digs, and Erin Ferello had one ace, two kills and eight assists.
NORTH PENN 3, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2 (15-25, 25-15, 25-17, 19-25, 15-10)
The Knights edged the Patriots in a tightly contested match.
Junior Kate Hanley, sophomore lefty Kiley McTaggart, junior Charlotte Patterson and senior Riley Gillmer all came together with the rest of the team to pull out a win. There were powerful kills and sets by these key four team members that were key in solidifying North Penn's performance in pulling ahead at the exciting game.
“I give credit to North Penn tonight,” East coach Kerri Rabberman said. “They fought hard and kept coming at us. We had too much inconsistency and just need to come out tomorrow with a fresh start and work hard.”
Non-league
SOUDERTON 3, DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY 0
Sparked by a standout service game, the Indians earned a sweep of neighboring Dock Mennonite.
“Our hard work continues to pay off on the court,” coach Cori Watson said. “We've spent a lot of time trying to make our serve a weapon, and it paid off when we earned a total of 20 aces tonight. We hope to continue our winning streak against CB East tomorrow.”
Alyssa Reiner led the charge with 10 service aces to go along with 14 kills and four digs. McKenna Murawski added five kills, eight digs and three aces. Nikki Hamilton had 14 assists, seven digs and three aces, and Gwen Anderson had 10 assists.
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