April paces Ridley to playoffs for first time in five years

RIDLEY TWP. — At first, Angela April did not like the nickname, “Big Ang,” a handle given to her by Dawn Jones, the mother of Ridley volleyball coach Gianna Jones, when April was a freshman.

“I didn’t understand it,” April said.

The genesis of the nickname was a little fuzzy. Many people, Gianna Jones, included, thought it was because of April’s six-foot height then, but that’s not the case as Dawn Jones clarified after the Green Raiders topped Haverford, 3-0, Thursday night to close out the regular season.

“She comes up big in big situations,” Dawn Jones said.

April lived up to the moniker in the final home match of her career, a pressure packed match that had Ridley’s season on the line. The Green Raiders came into the night seeded 23rd in the District 1 Class 4A power rankings. The top 24 teams make the tournament, so a loss would have put the Green Raiders at risk of being left out of the field for the fifth straight year.

April wasn’t having any of that, nor were the rest of the Green Raiders. She pounded 15 kills and recorded six digs as Ridley (13-8 overall, 7-4 Central League) won 25-14, 25-11, 25-23 to secure their first trip to the District 1 playoffs since 2015, when the seniors were in the eighth grade.

“We didn’t want our season to end,” April said. “We kept pushing to keep it going.”

Senior libero Riley Finnegan paced a solid defensive effort with 13 digs. Senior defensive specialist Kara Green pitched in with eight digs and six aces. Senior setter Dakota McCaughan pitched in with 11 digs and three aces. Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Madison Vinovrski had seven kills and two blocks. Setters Emily Liberio and Casey Tinney dished out 16 and 12 assists, respectively.

Ridley needed that production because the Fords (10-10, 6-5) put up quite the fight, especially in the third set, which featured seven ties and five lead changes. Emily Scott and Tess Smiley paced the attack with eight kills each. Claire Gerard paced the defense with 13 digs.

“We knew we had to play our hardest to win this match,” Tinney said.

Haverford, you see, also needed a win to have any shot of making the playoffs. Haverford was 27th so the Fords also were playing for their playoff lives.

“I thought we had that third set, but Ridley’s very good,” Haverford coach Eric Dahl said. “They have some big hitters.”

Leading that attack, as she has all year, was April. She recorded seven of her kills in the opening set and was on the service line for three points to erase a 21-18 deficit in the third set.

“She’s been playing for me since my freshman year, starting from the day she walked in the gym,” Gianna Jones said. “She’s extremely dedicated and has a really big heart for the game. She leaves it all on the court.”

April wasn’t alone in that respect. Liberio, a sophomore, showed the poise of a senior in a highly stressful situation with solid passes throughout the match.

“I guess I hid it well because I was really nervous,” Liberio said.

No, she and her fellow underclassmen just did not want to let the seniors down. They wanted to see April, Finnegan, McCaughan, Vinovrski, Green and Carly Ganley go out with at least one trip to the playoffs on their resume and they were able to deliver in the clutch.

So did “Big Ang.”

“We love the seniors, especially Ang,” Tinney said. “She’s amazing. We’re playing for all of them tonight.”

In the Catholic League:

Bonner-Prendergast 3, Little Flower 0 >> Kelly Eisenhart pounded six aces and three kills to help the Pandas (9-8, 7-5) close out the regular season with a 25-11, 25-4, 25-9 victory.

Lindsey Finnegan added six assists, five kills, two aces and one block. Alexis Piccone contriubted two assists, one kill and one block. Amada Trigg finished with five digs and two aces and Gianna DiAngelo pitched in with six digs.

In the Catholic Academies League:

Sacred Heart 3, St. Basil 1 >> Hannah Martinson turned in another big effort with 37 assists, 10 digs, five kills and five aces. Eric Corcoran contributed 17 kills and eight digs to the 25-23, 14-25, 26-24, 25-20 win. Ella O’Toole chipped in with 11 kills and 10 digs.

In nonleague action:

Lawrenceville 3, Agnes Irwin 1 >> Colby Yoh recorded five blocks and three kills in the 12-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-16 setback. Dayna Thomas finished with 17 assists and five digs, while Reaghan Pagano had three aces.