La Salle holds off Lansdale Catholic in 3 to win PCL title
MIDDLETOWN >> Jake Glah’s service run helped send the La Salle boys volleyball team off to a flying start in the Philadelphia Catholic League final Monday night. But the sophomore setter said he wasn’t trying to doing anything special.
“Just trying to get it in, let my teammates play out the points,” “Cause I wasn’t picking them apart on serves. We were just winning the points, they were helping me out.”
Glah and the Explorers collected the first nine points in Game 1 against Lansdale Catholic and quickly expanded the advantage to 14-1 in rolling to a 25-10 victory in the set.
“It felt really great, cause we were in the paper last week as starting with slow starts. It felt great to start out really hot,” Glah said.
Getting out in front proved to be mighty beneficial as the Crusaders battled Las Salle tough in the next two games, but in each the Explorers found a way to pull things out for a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 30-28) victory at Cairn University to secure their second PCL championship in three seasons.
“Greatest feeling really,” Glah said. “Really wanted to do it last year and came out with a tough lost to them and this year it was just really great for us.”
BOYS #VOLLEYBALL: @LaSalle_Sports celebrates after the final point of its 3-0 win over LC in the PCL final. pic.twitter.com/zijp2koe6X
— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) May 24, 2016
Lansdale Catholic, the top side in the regular season, twice had game point in the third set – 24-23 and 25-24 – but the No. 2 Explorers held on and eventually took the game 30-28 on their fourth match point.
“We tend to be flat-footed defensively, so they were really moving, the defensive movement was great. We put up a big block, we put up a big block and that really helped us, La Salle interim coach Jason Eisele said. “I think we startled their hitting and got them out of rhythm. They started getting in rhythm in the third game, which is why I’m really glad it didn’t go beyond that.
For Lansdale Catholic, it was the second straight season the team’s drive for a Catholic League title ended in the final. Archbishop Wood denied LC in 2015.
Matt Mussoline had 14 digs and five kills while JT Parker made 22 digs for the Crusaders. Colin Duffer had 18 assists.
“I’m devastated for the boys. I have eight seniors on this squad and we’ve been talking about the PCL championship since last year,” LC coach Kathy Arnow said. “I personally, I don’t care, it doesn’t associate anything with me, but these kids have worked really hard. I wanted it so badly for them and that’s the hard part.”
Both teams play for District 12 titles Wednesday at High School of the Future in Philadelphia. Lansdale Catholic faces Palumbo for the AA crown at 4 p.m. with La Salle taking on George Washington in the AAA final at 6 p.m. All four teams qualify for the PIAA Tournament.
“They’re a fantastic team, they’re tremendous athletes. I respect them so much,” said Arnow of La Salle. “And we knew it was going to be a battle. It should have been a better battle. It should have been the third set the whole game, you know what I mean. It should have been that the whole game.”
The Crusaders rebounded from the 15-point loss in Game 1 by taking the first four points of the second set, yet La Salle answered with four straight. LC took a 7-4 lead, but the Explorers ran off five consecutive points to go up 9-7.
Despite the Crusaders losing John Van for the match due to referee calling unsportsmanlike conduct on him in the game, LC rallied to pull ahead 19-18 on an Explorer hitting error. A 4-0 spurt put La Salle back in front 22-19 only for the Crusaders to pull level at 22.
Josh Williams’ kill broke the tie in the Explorers’ favor while a long hit by LC made it 24-22. Lansdale Catholic staved off one game point, but could not on a second time as La Salle claimed the set 25-23 for a 2-0 lead.
“Definitely the first game was fortunate that we were able to get that run,” Eisele said. “But really, realistically, we knew the games would be played like the second and third.”
La Salle was up 12-8 in Game 3 before a 6-1 gave LC its first lead of the set 14-13. The Explorers went back ahead at 16-15, but Lansdale Catholic collected the next three points and then extended the advantage to three at 20-17.
Three straight points by La Salle knotted the set 20-20. The teams traded the next seven points, giving LC game point at 24-23, but Williams deflected a ball out off a block to knot things at 24. The Crusaders had another game point at 25-24 only to hit a serve into the net.
La Salle proceeded to hold match point at 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27, yet could not close things out. At 28-28, Chris Kugler dropped in a ball LC could only get one touch to and on the Explorers’ fourth match point, a Crusaders return went outside the out of bounds antenna.
“We did not want to go to a fourth game given the momentum,” Glah said. “But it really just (was) we played together as a team. And we just kept fighting every single point until we got the lead and then we finally won that last point. Greatest feeling.”
Glah’s nine-point service run to begin Game 1 ended only due to him hitting his 10th serve in the net. That did not slow the Explorers, who collected the next five points for a 14-1 lead. Lansdale Catholic could only pull to within 10 twice – the last time at 18-8.
“I don’t even know what that was, right. I mean, that’s what I said. And I’m trying to sub people in and change things, cause we have a lot of weapons,” Arnow said. “We play in bigger gyms, but you’ve been to LC, it’s very small, it’s tight, we try to learn how to play in bigger gyms, but the ball floats differently in here, the air is different. It’s not an excuse, but it definitely affected our play in the beginning.”
