Sun Valley earns long-awaited district playoff win
ASTON — Sophomore Kristine Guenther and the rest of the Sun Valley volleyball team had unfinished business coming into the 2018 season.
The Vanguards were ousted in the first round of the District 1 Class 3A playoffs last fall. So, their main goal was to return to the district tournament and win a match.
“I think this is the best team we’ve had at Sun Valley in a long time,” Guenther said Wednesday night, “and we’re just going to keep getting better and better.”
Sun Valley’s Kristine Guenther blocks a shot by Interboro’s Amanda Floyd Wednesday night. The Vanguards beat the Bucs, 3-0, in the first round of the District 1 Class 3A volleyball tournament.
The fourth-seeded Vanguards advanced to the semifinals of the District 1 Class 3A tournament with a 25-11, 25-17, 25-10 victory over No. 5 Interboro. This marks the first time in coach Melissa “Liddy” Haines’ tenure as head coach that Sun Valley has qualified for the second round of districts.
“From day one, the girls set their goals,” Haines said. “I asked them want they wanted in the beginning of the season, and this was really what they wanted to accomplish together.”
The Vanguards will look to make program history when they face top-seeded Villa Maria in the semifinal round next Tuesday. No Sun Valley team has ever made it beyond the second round of a district tourney.
“We made playoffs last year and really wanted to go further than the first round,” Sun Valley libero Rachel DiCarlo said. “We got bumped down to fourth in the power rankings, but we really wanted to play Interboro in the first round and play at home. We wanted to have a really good spot in the playoffs and hopefully, come Tuesday, we’ll have a lot more of a challenge.”
To their credit, the Bucs showed plenty of fight against a superior Sun Valley squad. The Del Val League champions played inspired volleyball and briefly grabbed a 10-8 lead in the second set. Junior libero Maddie Rizzo was all over the floor, racking up a slew of defensive digs while trying to keep every ball that came her way alive and in play.
“She’s a real hustler, she drives the team,” Interboro coach Alicyn Huddell said. “She’s done that all year.”
Senior hitter Amanda Floyd also flourished for the Bucs (16-7), who were making their debut in the District 1 tournament.
“I’m very happy with the way our season has gone,” Huddell said. “This was our first time in the playoffs, certainly since the new alignment in District 1, and it was a great experience. We’re thrilled to have made the playoffs. I was very proud with how we played tonight and how we’ve play all season. We were a very scrappy team and I think the kids played well. I didn’t want to get blown away and I think we showed we were there. They were right in it and they were having fun.
“We won the Del Val title (outright) for the first time in a long time, since I’ve been here as coach, and we had a lot of fun.”
The Bucs were a team that the Vanguards didn’t want to take lightly.
“We play in a tough league in Chester County and they’re from the Del Val League,” DiCarlo said. “It’s different (type of competition) and I think playing against those tougher teams helped us get ready for tonight. We’ve been playing together for the last five years and we’ve constantly been playing year-round. It has really motivated us because we’ve had this experience together and we’re constantly meshing on the court.
“It feels great to finally win in the playoffs.”
The defensive specialist DiCarlo recorded 15 digs. Hannah Vickers finished with 10 kills and nine assists and dominated at the front of the net. Guenther added seven kills and 10 assists. Jordan Thompson notched four blocks, Rae Patterson posted six service aces and Liv Nickerson excelled in multiple areas for the Vanguards.
“I told them that it doesn’t matter who you play, you’ve got to play your game the whole way through,” Haines said. “I thought we did that tonight. I want them to play well so that we can play together as a team as long as we can. It’s going to get tougher for us. We have three seniors on the team and we want to stick together as long as we can for those seniors.”
One of the benefits for Haines is the prospect of this team becoming something very special in the next couple of years. If the Vanguards aren’t fortunate enough to move on beyond next Tuesday, the future remains bright for the program.
“We have one senior who started this year,” Haines said. “The rest of them are sophomores or juniors. We’re a young team. We’re going to keep getting better and better.”
