Lansdale Catholic falls to York Suburban in PIAA-2A 1st round

PHILADELPHIA >> Despite coming into the season with only two varsity-tested players on its roster, Lansdale Catholic still marched right back to the PIAA-2A Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

However, the Crusaders ran into a tremendous obstacle in the opening round, District Three Runner-Up, York Suburban.

“Their passing was on point and they ran plays that we just weren’t ready for,” said LC senior Gavin Duffner. “The speed of their play was unbelievable. They’re a great team.”

The Trojans triumphed 3-0, winning 25-13, 25-18, 25-5 at Lincoln High School. The victory advanced York Suburban to the quarterfinals Saturday, to face either Holy Redeemer or Brandywine Heights.

“They had strong hitters and they were playing their game,” Crusaders coach Julie Stocklos said of the Trojans. “They had good combinations — passing, hitting, setting, and they played hard.”

Nate Bowman racked up 14 kills for York Suburban and Noah Chojnacki had 20 assists. Bowman also added three aces.

The Crusaders made a push in Game Two to try and even things at one apiece, but the Trojans were able to put it away and then dominated Game Three.

“We had a good season in our conference. We won the District (12) title. We had a tough matchup in the first round of states and they really just gave it to us,” said Duffner, one of those returning varsity players for LC, along with Ben Ahern. “But throughout the regular season, we played really well, finished second in our conference.

“There wasn’t much varsity experience but we really came together.”
Duffner finished his volleyball career but will head to Temple next year.

“The boys played their hearts out. They’re a good group of kids,” Stocklos said. “They worked hard always, even in practices, games. We had five great seniors, who we’re gonna miss next year.”