Tentative Pennsbury boys volleyball swept by Pennridge
WARMINSTER – It all happened so quickly. Just as No. 2 seed Pennsbury swept Avon Grove in the District 1 Class AAA quarterfinal matchup, defending champion Pennridge swept the Falcons in the semifinals Tuesday night (May 24) at William Tennent.
All three games were close with the third-seeded Rams winning three in succession 25-20, 25-23 and 26-24.
“We knew that Pennridge was a really, really good team and we had a game plan coming in and we didn’t necessarily execute it as well as we would have liked,” admitted Pennsbury co-captain Kevin Killoran.
“I wouldn’t say we came into the game nervous but we didn’t play our best.”
“It wasn’t the lack of our block or our defense, it was the lack of us swinging very aggressively,” added head coach Justin Fee. “I felt like we were three-quarter swinging at times, afraid to hit the ball out.”
The Rams (17-3) advance to face top seed Council Rock North, which disposed of No. 4 CB West in five games in the other semifinal. The Falcons (12-4) fall to the third-place matchup where they will face the Bucks on Thursday, May 26 back at Tennent. Pennsbury must beat West in order to make states.
While the Falcons never had a lead in game one, they led 19-18 in game two before Pennridge finished the game out with a 7-4 run. Pennsbury failed to take advantage of nine service errors committed by the Rams in game two.
“It all comes back to offense,” said Fee. “They want to be aggressive so that our middles can’t dominate the game; that’s why (Pennridge coach Dave Childs) was having his kids jump-serve – that helps put a little bit more onto it.
“You have to be able to put the ball away offensively and make them pay after they serve the ball out. “When we serve at them, we get that second opportunity where we get a dig and earn that point.
“We didn’t earn enough points while we were serving; that’s what it comes down to”
Pennsbury had no answer for junior Ben Chinnici, who led Pennridge with 20 kills.
“He has all the tools,” said Fee. “One of our strategies was to try to serve him short, serve the seam and make him move and pass the ball so he doesn’t get set as much.
“When a guy is flying around all over the place trying to pass the ball all the time, he’s not always going to get the best approach to smash the ball at us and I think it worked a little bit.”
Not enough, however.
When Chinnici wasn’t causing damage to the Falcons’ cause, Pennridge sophomore Cross Edwards was. The 10th-grader came on strong in game three and finished with seven kills, nine digs and two aces.
“He a young kid for them that’s going to be a pretty good player. He’s nice and long and has good skills already as a 10th-grader,” said Fee. “I can see him being another guy they are going to add into the mix next year. With a little more experience, he’ll make them even better.”
In game three, Pennsbury got out of the quickly and was ahead 8-3 before the Rams started chipping away. Pennridge started closing the gap with a pair of kills registered respectively by junior opposite Josiah Friesen and senior Aaron Nelson, who finished with six kills each. A kill by Friesen tied game three at 13-all.
From there, the Falcons fell behind.
“They don’t give up,” explained Killoran, of the Rams. “We didn’t get cocky; we’re not like that. But we had trouble keeping our lead and continuing to play our best.
“Pennridge just keeps chipping away; they’re definitely not one to give up early and I tip my hat to them.”
A dig at the back line by Chinnici and an ensuing kill by Edwards put Pennridge on top 17-15 before Pennsbury senior Anthony Rosso answered with a kill of his own.
The Rams then recorded a 4-1 run mostly on the work of Edwards, who registered a kill, a forced error and an ace, putting Pennridge on top 21-17.
The Falcons answered with a spurt of their own, cutting the deficit to two points on a pair of forced errors and a kill by junior Sean Sweeney.
Trailing 23-21, Pennsbury finally drew even at 24-all on a kill by senior Kenny Hickman – set up by Killoran – and a kill by Sweeney.
Unfortunately for Falcon fans who made the trip to Warminster, Chinnici finished with a kill and a forced error, handing the Rams a 26-24 triumph for the sweep.
“This is obviously a really disappointing loss,” said Killoran. “We have to take away what we know from this game and that is that this isn’t the Pennsbury that we know. We know we can play a lot better than that.”
The Falcons get their last chance to make states on Thursday, May 26 back at Tennent vs. CB West.
“It’s our only chance left to play in states and if we don’t play our hearts out, that could be the last game of the season,” explained Killoran.
“That’s definitely not what I want and from what I know from the rest of the kids on our team, I’m pretty sure that everyone else wants it equally as much.
“So we’re definitely not going to give up. I’m going to try my best as co-captain to reset our mentality and come out as strong as we can.”
Killoran had 25 assists, five digs and two blocks for Pennsbury while Sweeney registered 13 kills, six digs and a block. Hickman added seven kills and an ace and Brad Edwards chipped in with 15 digs and two assists.
Additionally for Pennridge, libero Austin Rush came through with 22 digs and setter Jesse Smith added 36 assists.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
DISTRICT 1 CLASS AAA SEMIFINAL
Pennridge 3, Pennsbury 0
(May 24 at William Tennent)
PENNRIDGE 25 25 26
PENNSBURY 20 23 24
