Pennsbury boys volleyball falls to Penn Manor in PIAA opener
READING – Pennsbury had District 3 champion Penn Manor on the ropes in the opening round of states Wednesday night, June 1 at Wilson High School. After winning game one, the Falcons had registered a 10-5 lead in game three.
Then, it all seemed to vanish so quickly.
The Comets (19-3) called a timeout then went on to outscore Pennsbury 20-12 to take game three, 25-22. And that was after posting a 25-16 win in game two.
While the Falcons kept things closer than that in games three and four, they could not hold the lead in either and were subsequently eliminated from the tournament.
“It’s the story of how the whole season has gone in big matches for us,” said Pennsbury head coach Justin Fee. “Sometimes, we come out and play very well offensively and either win the game or lose a super tight one. Other times, we come out and don’t perform too well on the offensive side and lose a close one.
“We’ve been up and down offensively all season.”
With the 3-1 victory, Penn Manor advanced to the state quarterfinals where it defeated District 7 runner-up Bethel Park 3-1 June 3 at Mount Aloysius College.
After grabbing the third and final PIAA Class AAA Tournament bid with a dramatic 3-2 win over CB West in District 1 playoff action, Pennsbury watched this season come to a close at 15-5.
While the Falcons may have managed a 25-23 win in game one, they had no answer for Penn Manor senior Sam Greenslade. The 6-6 outside hitter who is headed to George Mason finished with 30 kills including four in the opening moments of the second set that gave the Comets an early 5-2 edge.
“He’s a big boy, super consistent player – he hits the ball hard and well,” said Fee. “We tried to match our best blockers against him in order to slow him down.”
It seemed whenever Penn Manor needed a point, it turned to Greenslade.
“He’s our go-to guy if we’re in a pickle,” said Comets junior opposite Alex Newport. “He’s our slide-out man. Usually, if it’s a hard serve, we kind of go to him first, play away from there and slide out.”
In game three, Pennsbury junior Sean Sweeney registered a pair of kills, putting the Falcons on top 14-11. Greenslade answered with a pair of kills of his own and forced error to deadlock the sides at 14-all.
With the score tied at 19, a hitting violation on Pennsbury and a Greenslade kill gave the Comets a 2-point edge. While a Falcon hitting error gave Penn Manor a 3-point edge at 23-20, a kill by Sweeney and a kill-attempt by Greenslade went out of bounds, drawing Pennsbury within a point at 23-22.
The Falcons erred on their next two hits however and all of a sudden, Pennsbury’s collective backs were against the wall.
“We fought super-hard,” said Fee. “It was just a matter of when that score was tied or it was a 1-point difference, we gave up a 2- or 3-point run and that’ such a huge dealbreaker.
“Now, you’re fighting back against a bigger (deficit) and next thing you know, the game is over.”
In game four, a kill by Sweeney cut the Comets’ edge to a lone point at 23-22. However, Greenslade touched the ball over the net and onto the floor for his final kill and the Falcons had a hard time handling Penn Manor’s ensuing serve, leading to a hitting error and the conclusion of their 2016 campaign.
Hitting .395 in the contest, Sweeney finished with 17 kills, one ace, six digs and four blocks. Kenny Hickman chipped in with eight kills and four blocks while hitting .467. Kevin Killoran came through with 37 assists, four digs and a block. Brad Edwards added 17 digs and James Greenland contributed with eight digs, seven kills and an ace.
Pennsbury waves goodbye to middle hitter Mason Reilly, Killoran, Hickman, Edwards and Greenland.
Sweeney returns next year for his final season. He’ll be joined by sophomores Charlie Bluestein and Brett Garretson along with freshman Andy Delworth.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
PIAA Class AAA Tournament (first round)
Penn Manor 3, Pennsbury 1
(June 1 at Wilson West Lawn)
Penn Manor 23 25 25 25
Pennsbury 25 16 22 22
