Complete effort powers Pennridge past Central Bucks East

EAST ROCKHILL >> On Thursday night, the Pennridge boys volleyball team provided a glimpse of what they want to be.

“Fantastic win,” said Ryan Benscoter, an imposing force for the Rams all evening long in their battle with Central Bucks East. “After (Tuesday’s loss to North Penn), coming out here and getting a good team win was something we really emphasized and something we wanted to do.

“We came out and did it perfectly.”

Everyone had a hand in the Rams’ 3-0 sweep of the Patriots, a victory that raised Pennridge’s record to 5-2.

The Rams climbed closer to Suburban One League American Conference leader Upper Dublin and regained their momentum heading into a Friday night home match with Pennsbury.

East came out swinging on Thursday, staying even with the Rams and even taking a 15-12 lead midway through the first set. But Pennridge kept at it, pulling ahead 17-16 and going on to win the first set comfortably.

The Rams would prevail 25-21, 25-19, 25-21 over the Pats.

“Everyone started playing their own game,” Benscoter said of the squad. “There was a lot of trust inside the team. Everyone just kind of came together and became one big, solid unit out there.”

Benscoter (20 kills, four aces, 8 digs) closed out the second set with a mighty swing. The Rams, overall, closed out each set in commanding fashion.

“I tried to have the best night I could. I think a lot of it was my teammates,” Benscoter said. “When I hit the ball, everyone came up and either said ‘good job,’ or ‘go get the next one.’ I think that really helped me and it helped everyone around.

“I think the team environment really helped us all.”

Thomas McKinney (five kills, 8 digs), Bryce Muller (five kills), Tyler Johnson (four kills), Dan Detweiler (10 digs) and Riley Kodidek (30 assists) helped key the victory for the Rams.

“We looked better than we’ve looked in a while. We played a little more consistent, made a few more plays,” Rams coach Dave Childs said. “We just wanna see that every day. If we can get a little bit more consistent every day, that’s what we’re shooting for.”

The Rams made it difficult for East to mount a comeback in any of the sets.

“We passed pretty well, and I think that’s why we were able to limit their runs,” Childs said. “We passed well and we were able to keep their block honest and get good swings.

“We didn’t make many mistakes. Midway through that first game, we only had one hitting error to that point. We weren’t making many mistakes so we remained in control. Tonight, it was really good to see us put together a consistent match straight through.”