North Penn can’t find the consistent play to get past Souderton
TOWAMENCIN>> In order to compete at any level, in any sport, consistency is key. It doesn’t matter how well you can play if you can’t do it regularly enough to produce wins.
Wednesday night, as North Penn took on Souderton, it showed some of the inconsistency that has it them at times this season. The Knights looked as though they were the better team for stretches during the match, but they could not string together enough points to beat the Indians as they fell 3-1 (24-26, 10-25, 25-20, 25-16) in Suburban One League Continental Conference action.
The first set was back and forth the entire time. Neither team was able to really pull too far ahead until Souderton edged out a 26-24 victory behind 12 combined kills (4 each) from Mike Pagan, Aaron Moyer, and Ben Cornman.
Moyer finished the night with a team high 9 kills and added to his offensive contribution with exceptional net play on defense as well.
In the second set, the consistency became a problem for North Penn. The same team that fought for every point in the first set looked flat in the second as they fell 25-10 and never found its rhythm, something the Knights’ coach says is all about the level of energy they bring to the floor.
“The first set and the fourth set they outplayed us, the second set they definitely did too, and then the third set we competed like we know we can and ended up winning that one,’ said North Penn head coach Ryan Genova. “From talking to the guys in the huddle just now I really think it’s the level of energy that we’re able to bring that dictates how we play.’
They were able to rebound, and take an exciting third set from the Indians, but it was not enough to climb back as they dropped the fourth and deciding set to end the night.
Other than their energy, it was the teams passing and serving that did them in.
They finished with 13 service errors, which is always frustrating as a team, but they also struggled passing to their setter when a Souderton hit got past their block, causing confusion on offense.
“If you win the pass and serve game, you win the match, and we didn’t do that,’ said Genova whose team drops to 1-2 on the year with the loss. “The focus in every practice for us is improving on that and we’re getting there but tonight we didn’t do it well enough.’
For Souderton, the win brings them to 3-1 for the season. It’s a great start for a team that has high hopes this season but they have their own concerns about their level of consistent play that they’ll need to be improving going forward.
“We played well for the most part but we had a little lull in our play in the third set, which is something we’ve seen at times this season,’ said Souderton head coach Dave Stastny. “You have to give them credit for how they played in that set but I’m proud of how we bounced back from that and finished it out.”
