Downingtown East one step closer to Ches-Mont National title
WEST GOSHEN- – Downingtown East had no problem staying undefeated in the Ches-Mont League girls volleyball National division on Thursday evening and take one more step to a division title as they made a visit to West Chester East. The Cougars, who have lost only six sets all year, beat the Vikings in three, 25-16, 25-23, 25-14.
“The girls really enjoy one another’s company,’ Downingtown East head coach Peggy Hopton said. “They have each other’s back, they work really hard and I think that goes a long way in the success we have had this year, they are just a nice bunch of kids that compete.’
The Cougars jumped on the Vikings (3-10, 4-13) right from the first serve and did not let their foot off the gas. They controlled the pace of play and kept their hits in bounds and were very well disciplined.
Senior co-captain Lauren Mueller led Downingtown East (12-0, 16-7-3 overall) with eight kills, while Lauren Kelly added four of her own. Sarah Goncharoff had a great defensive game with 16 digs. Maddie Hammer had a good all-around game with one kill, two assists and four blocks.
The young Vikings, with only has two seniors on their roster, tried to make a rally in the second set.
They had timely hits and were diving all over the court for digs and had D-East on its heels. They led 11-9 in the set, led by Taylor Crawford, Anna Brennan and Leah Ritchey.
After Hopton called timeout, the Cougars went on a 7-0 run to regain control of the match. W.C. East did not go down quietly however as they had another mini-run to tie the set up at 22. But the Cougars won three of the next four points to take the set.
Hopton was also able to play some of her bench players.
“It was nice to see everyone get some playing time,’ Hopton said. “I think that is going to help us in the future when those girls need to play in pressure situations. This gives them some game experience. We have six senior starters leaving so it is important these young players step up.’
The third set was all Downingtown East as the Vikings were unable to recover from their close second set loss.
D-East kept the ball in play and had four aces which W.C. East was unable to respond to.
“The last couple games haven’t been our best but I am still proud of the way we are finishing the regular season,’ senior Rachael Graham said. “Last year was awesome bringing back the Ches-Mont title back to Downingtown and defending our title this year has been awesome, just two more wins to go!’
Downingtown East finishes with home matches against Octorara on Monday, and Downingtown West on Wednesday.
For the Vikings, who play their final two games on the road, Alli Ward had five kills, three blocks, four digs and two aces. Lauren Cooper contributed six digs, four kills and two aces, Ritchey had an ace and 15 digs. and Brennan added five kills.
