Pope John Paul II sweeps Perkiomen Valley
GRATERFORD — With a combined 24 kills from seniors Kelly Tornetta and Nicole Dorman, Pope John Paul II put on a strong performance Thursday evening as they defeated Perkiomen Valley in straight sets in a Pioneer Athletic Conference match at Perkiomen Valley.
Winning by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-17, the Golden Panthers (4-0, 6-0) remain unbeaten in their second season in the PAC-10.
“I thought we played really well,’ said Pope John Paul II head coach Ryan Sell. “We kept our composure even when the score got tight. We kept a high energy level throughout the match, which gave us success against Perk Valley tonight.’
Despite the Golden Panthers’ high energy throughout, the Vikings (2-2, 3-3) hung tight in the first two games. Neither team seemed to have an edge in the first game as the largest Golden Panther lead was at 14-10.
After numerous back and forths, it came down to the wire with PJP leading 24-23.Tornetta spiked the game-winner to close it out, which seemed to spark the Golden Panthers as they closed the first set.
“It was definitely a huge swing to win that first game,’ said Tornetta. “It lit a fire under us and got us excited as we went into the next game.’
Despite their excitement, the second game looked to be much of the same as both teams were neck-and-neck throughout.
After a 6-3 run to take a 23-22 lead, the Vikings seemed to have something figured out as Cayla Veverka had two kills, two blocks and two digs. After a PJP timeout, the Golden Panthers regained their composure and scored three straight points to end the game 25-22.
“We played pretty well today, we just gave up too many points in little gaps,’ said Perkiomen Valley head coach Chang Han. “We should have had that second set. Unfortunately we just couldn’t execute at the finish.’
For Sell and the Golden Panthers, winning the second game gave the visitors all the momentum they needed.
“I was really proud of the way the girls came out and closed out the second game,’ said Sell. “We executed really well and felt really confident going into the final set.’
Pope John Paul showed their confidence early in the second set as they jumped out to an 8-3 lead, as sophomore Alana Pergine had back-to-back kills to keep the momentum as Pope John Paul won the final set 25-17.
“In the first two games, we weren’t communicating as effectively as we normally do,’ said Pergine. “But we played well against a strong team. By the time the third game came around, we all came together and were ready to close it out.’
The Golden Panthers saw leadership on all parts of the court as Tornetta led the way with 15 kills while Dorman added nine and Pergine had six. Grace Dawson contributed 33 assists and 10 digs while Alexa Difillipo had 20 digs. According to Tornetta, the team has been improving with each game and feels as though the bond between teammates has brought much success.
“We all have such great chemistry out on the court,’ said Tornetta, who has been playing alongside some of her Golden Panther teammates for six years. “We’ve really been coming together as a team. It’s easy to go out there and know we can trust each other.’
Throughout the match, Perkiomen Valley showed strong teamwork as Ellie Min finished with 23 assists and four digs. Junior Cayla Veverka finished with 11 kills, four blocks and four digs while Jen Maurer had seven kills and four digs. Emilia Leyes added six digs and five kills.
“We definitely stepped up today and worked well together as a team,’ said Veverka. “We played hard and ended up losing to a good team. At this point, we just have to stay focused and get ready for our next game, that’s all we can do.’
“Pope John Paul is a tough team,’ said Han. “They took advantage of all of our errors which ended up being the difference in the match. I’m hoping we can get stronger from this loss. There are still plenty more games to play this season.’
The Vikings will look to bounce back Monday as they travel to Spring-Ford while the Golden Panthers look to remain undefeated as they host Merion Mercy Academy Monday.
Follow Thomas Nash on Twitter at @Thomas_Nash10.
