Souderton advances past Haverford, into District 1-3A quarterfinals
FRANCONIA >> Haverford’s road through districts began with a pretty big obstacle.
“We know they’re a really good team,” Fords coach Sam Moyerman said of sixth-seeded Souderton Area. “They’re really strong all the way around. Ben (Campman’s) just a tremendous player so we knew going into it, we were gonna have to take care of that.”
Campman was a force throughout, accumulating 12 kills and adding nine digs, and with convincing victories in the first two games, Big Red was swinging its way towards the District 1-3A Quarterfinals.
“It’s tough when you’re starting off in districts and a lot of guys haven’t played in playoff matches before,” Campman said, “so to get those first two out of the way quickly really helped the confidence.”
Souderton pulled away to a 3-0 victory over No. 11 Haverford, by the count of 25-16, 25-14, 31-29, to advance to a Thursday night matchup at No. 3 Pennsbury.
“We’re excited, looking forward to it,” Campman said. “We’d like to not do what we did last year — we went up 2-0 and lost (to Council Rock North in the quarters).”
Early Spikes
Big Red took control on its home court, with Brett Cornman racking up 15 kills. Souderton moved swiftly into a 2-0 lead.
“I think we came out, got some quality wins in the first two sets,” Campman said, “and I think in the third one, it took a little longer than we would have liked it to, but it was fun, got a chance to get some other guys in.”
Added Campman: “Pretty much up and down the roster, everybody did something.”
Luke Pagan consistently set up his teammates, piling up 30 assists. He also added four aces to make it a steeper climb for the Fords.
“We came out solid,” Big Red coach Dave Stastny said. “I thought we could have been a little more focused as a whole. I think we did well. Sometimes I thought we had opportunities to play a little bit stronger. But you gotta give (Haverford) credit. They came out and kept balls in play and it went from there.”
Souderton now gets the opportunity to advance a round further than it did a year ago.
“We know we’re at districts so the intensity, the effort has to increase a level, and hopefully we can do that,” Stastny said.
Fords on the Rise
Young Haverford, a team that played just one senior Tuesday night, battled into the third set, pushing it to a 31-29 decision.
Freshman Quinby Dahl should be a leader for years to come.
“He didn’t disappoint this year. He had a really good year,” Moyerman said. “I think the guys are excited. A lot of them are excited about playing club and they see what it takes. They see these good teams.
“We played Dock twice. We played a couple Suburban One teams as best we can to try and give the guys a glimpse of the teams that are in districts and are about to move on. They’re the ones that compete for the district title and make it over to states. I’m really happy with the way the guys played and I think they learned something.”
