Wood puts end to GA’s run

It took all day long, a little over nine and half hours to be exact, as Germantown Academy and Archbishop Wood squared off for the championship of the Perkiomen Valley tournament Saturday morning into afternoon.
Both Archbishop Wood and Germantown Academy ploughed through its respective pools as the two teams represented the only two undefeated teams coming out of group play. With 11 teams in the tournament the Patriots had to play one more game in pool play than the Vikings but GA coach Dan Sullivan was happy with the draw.
“I think we kind of lucked out to be honest, we got a pretty good draw,” Sullivan said. “I knew that the other pool had some strong competitors in there. Just looking at the teams up and down in the other pool, I knew that was the stronger pool, you don’t have to be a (genius) to see that.”
GA was one of the most consistent teams to hit the court all day while showing flashes of brilliance on offense and defense. The Patriots staved off elimination the semifinals trailing one game to none and trailing in the second game 22-17 at one point. The Patriots put together a run to win the second game; forcing a game three that GA won 17-15.
The Patriots got great play from its hitters Grace Polanso and Carly Pruitt all day as they continually crushed balls over the net game after game and were key reasons for the Patriots offensive effectiveness.
Before the Vikings knocked off the Patriots 25-21, 25-17 in the finals they first had to run through a tough Pool A consisting of Christopher Dock, Wissahickon, Council Rock South and Perk Valley.
The rock-solid Wood team never met much resistance all day as hitter Maggie Gorman, setter Kristen Nealon and mid block Alsa McDevitt led the way for the Vikings.
“I’m leaving with a smile on my face,” Wood coach Sarah Spadafora said. “This is the first time where everything has come together. We’ve had times where our offense has been great and our defense has been great and our passing has been good but I think today was the first time we collectively really came together and really played as a team.”