Battle of unbeatens sees Upper Dublin top Pennridge in five

UPPER DUBLIN >> David Levin’s stat sheet was full: four aces, nine kills, three blocks, 13 digs and one assist.

And keeping in tune with his teammates, he got by with a little help from his friends.

“Every single huddle we went into, we told each other to keep their head up,” the Upper Dublin junior said. “If you miss a serve, get the next one. If you miss a hit, get the next one. Everybody just kept each other’s head up.”

The Cardinals kept their heads up and kept swinging, battling to a 3-2 victory over rival Pennridge Thursday evening in a battle of Suburban One League American Conference unbeatens.

“That’s what we expected,” Cardinals coach Paul Choi said of the back-and-forth battle. “We knew that they were gonna be a tough team. Pennridge has a good program. They’re always good, every single year.

“So we did whatever we could to prepare the best that we could. It’s difficult when they have a big hitter like (Ryan) Benscoter. But I’m happy we were able to stay together and pull it out at the end.”

Upper Dublin prevailed 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11, raising its undefeated mark to 5-0.

“This was a great win,” Levin said. “They were the only other undefeated team left in our conference. The quick energy (made the difference in the fifth set). Right off the bat. We sided out and continued to push as a team.”

Upper Dublin jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fifth and deciding set.

But again, back came Pennridge (4-1).

The Rams got as close as 10-9 and later got to within 13-11. But the Cardinals closed it out.

“You gotta stay aggressive, keep swinging,” Choi said. “You don’t let any point get you down. We had a lead, and that lead was closed pretty quickly towards the end. But you rely on your teammates and just keep fighting on.”

Many heroes emerged for Upper Dublin.

Sean Bainbridge had 10 digs, and Spencer Beidner racked up 46 assists along with one kill, one block and 12 digs.

Sean Seabrook had 15 kills, 13 digs, an ace and a block, and Trevor Molloy chipped in with 16 kills, 13 digs, three aces, an assist and two blocks.

“I love this team. It’s a great group of guys,” Levin said. “Everybody just tries to raise each other up, no matter what their position on the team.”

It took that kind of collective effort to give Pennridge its first defeat.

The Rams were led by Benscoter’s 22 kills, Riley Kodidek’s 40 assists and Dan Detweiler’s 16 digs.

“We’re doing OK so far. The record is there. We gotta clean a lot of the play up,” Rams coach Dave Childs said. “I think we can do that. We have the players to do that.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting into a real season again and understanding it’s a long season. They have the time and ability to make some adjustments and continue to get better.”