CR North and Upper Dublin were winners in the District One 4A Tournament Thursday. CR North/Perk Valley photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
District One Class 4A
#15 Upper Dublin 3, #2 West Chester Rustin 1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-23)
It’s been a magical postseason run for Upper Dublin so far.
As the 15th seed in the District One Class 4A tournament facing a first-round matchup Monday against second-seeded and undefeated Pennridge, not many people outside of the Flying Cardinal locker room gave the underdogs much a chance.
The Cardinals worked their magic—not to mention an all-around stellar team effort—to pull off the hard-fought 3-2 victory and hand the Rams their first loss of the season. Upper Dublin’s reward for the win was a quarterfinal date with seventh seed West Chester Rustin on Thursday.
Once again, the Cardinals were considered the underdogs in this contest.
Once again, the Cardinals kept the magic going.
After dropping the first set 19-25, Upper Dublin swept the next three (25-15, 25-19, 25-23) to earn a berth in the District Semifinal and advance past the second round of Districts for the first time in program history.
“This was a well-fought battle against a well-coached team. (We were) able to come out on top with an upset, getting huge contributions from Emily Senior and Anna Faust,” said Cardinals’ coach Paul Choi. “The team never rolled over and continued to grind its way to come back after being down the first set.”
Anna Faust was a defensive standout with 21 digs, while Senior powered the offense with 22 kills as well as 3 blocks and 2 digs.
Setter Lauren Price dished out 43 assists as well as 4 digs and a kill; Charlotte Qi had 8 digs, 4 kills, 1 block and 1 ace; Maggie Faust had 13 digs, 9 kills and an ace; and Sophia Sabri had 6 kills and 2 blocks.
“This was a victory that will have its place in the UD program,” Choi said. “We have never gone past the second round of districts.”
Upper Dublin will look to keep its historical postseason run going when it visits the district’s third seed, Council Rock North, at 6 pm Monday. The Cardinals will not only be looking to earn their first trip to the District Final, but to hand another undefeated Suburban One League division champion its first loss of the season.
#3 Council Rock North 3, #11 Perkiomen Valley 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-18)
A straight-set win tends to give the impression of a mismatch. Council Rock North’s 3-0 win over Perkiomen Valley in the District One Class 4A Quarterfinal on Thursday was anything but..jpg)
“Perk Valley was a very good team and well coached,” said North coach Mike Adams. “They were constantly adjusting and making us do the same.”
The third-seeded Indians’ victory was sparked by a masterpiece of a defensive effort.
“We stepped up by playing amazing team defense led by Mikayla Adams with 22 digs (and 1 ace) and Mary Baniewicz with 19 digs (5 kills, 5 blocks, 1 ace, 1 assist),” Adams said.
At the net, junior outside hitter Ashleigh Adams scored 21 kills and added 17 digs, 5 aces, 1 assist, and 1 block.
“Ashleigh Adams had a fantastic offensive night to keep Perk Valley on their heels,” the Indians’ coach said. “We had a well-rounded attack from the middle and opposite hitters.”
Senior middle hitters Sabrina Pasemann (3 kills, 6 blocks, 1 dig) Julia Walton (4 kills, 1 ace, 5 digs, 2 blocks) and sophomore opposite hitter Ainsley Jordan (13 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace) led the attack. Junior setter Kate Logan managed the offense and dished out 27 assists along with 1 kill, 7 digs, and 1 block.
Council Rock North extends its undefeated run to 13-0 on the season and advances to Monday’s semifinal at 6 pm against a dangerous 15th-seeded Upper Dublin squad that has already knocked off the second and seventh seeds en route to Monday’s matchup.
#5 Bishop Shanahan 3, #4 Hatboro-Horsham 2
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