Council Rock North girls volleyball cruises to opening win over Avon Grove in districts

NEWTOWN – It was no surprise.

Seeded ninth in the District 1 Class AAAA girls volleyball tournament, Council Rock North cruised to a win in straight sets over 24th-seeded Avon Grove Tuesday night in the opening round of the postseason.

The Lady Indians won 25-15, 25-13 and 25-18 to advance to a Round of 16 matchup with No. 8 seed and defending state champion Garnet Valley.

“I think the other team didn’t play up to their potential, for whatever reason, and we were really consistent with the ball,” said CR North head coach Mike Adams. “Our passing was on, our serving was tough and we frustrated them.

“They were trying to hit balls that they shouldn’t have been hitting, which led to easy points for us.

“A couple things went our way and not so much their way in the first two sets.”

In the first set, the Lady Indians went up 6-0 early and 13-6 at the midway point before the visiting Red Devils closed to within three points at 15-12 with a 6-2 run. Council Rock closed the first win out with a 10-3 run.

In game two, the Indians went up 6-1 early and 13-5 by the midway point, on their way to a 25-13 victory.

Avon Grove turned the tables in game three, going up 3-1, 6-4 and 10-7 before CR North senior Mackenzie Tinner locked the sides at 10-all on a block and kill in virtually the same maneuver.

While the Devils retook the lead briefly on a net violation on the Indians, North went ahead 18-14 when senior Maddy Moore forced back to back hitting errors on her service. The Indians expanded the edge to 21-14 on a save by senior Julia D’Apolito and an ensuing kill by junior Jenna Hron then won the match 25-18 on three straight hitting errors by the opponent.

With the win, the Rock, now 18-5, advances to face Garnet Valley 7 p.m. Thursday on the Devils’ home court while Avon Grove ends its season at 13-10.

The Indians defeated Garnet Valley in straight sets in the D-1 quarterfinals last year before finishing third in the district with a loss to Plymouth-Whitemarsh and a win over Downingtown West.

District 1 Class AAAA Tournament
Council Rock North 3, Avon  Grove 0
(Oct. 24 at CR North)
CR NORTH           25           25           25
AVON GROVE    15           13           18