Methacton sweeps Lansdale Catholic
LANSDALE >> The Methacton girls volleyball team played its 10th match in as many days when it traveled to Lansdale Catholic Wednesday night.
If the Warriors had tired legs, they didn’t show it. After comfortably winning the first game, Methacton rallied to victories in the second and third games to come away with a 3-0 win, 25-12, 26-24 and 25-21.
“Really sore, honestly,” Methacton’s Kayla Ginther said of how they’re feeling after 10 straight games. “My legs hurt really bad, but it’s alright. After you get warmed up and get on a run it’s really fun.”
The Warriors trailed, 17-10, in the third game. They responded with a 10-2 run to take a 20-19 lead. The teams were even at 20 and 21 before Methacton won four straight points to close out the victory.
“It’s really important to focus on yourself and not on what the other team is doing or their crowd and stuff,” Ginther, who scored three straight Warriors points to give them a 21-20 lead, said. “If you just focus on everything you’re doing, you’ll be fine.”
“We talked about taking every point one at a time,” Methacton coach Alex Notaristefano said. “As long as they stay in control and realize they can’t score 15 in one serve, we can do a good job at chipping back, chipping back and chipping back. We’ve been talking about it. We had a couple of matches where we’ve been able to do that.”
The second set was a game of runs. Methacton started fast, jumping out to an 8-1 lead. The Crusaders responded with a 7-3 run, trimming their deficit to three, 11-8. They tied the match at 14, 17 and 18 before taking their first lead since 6-5 in Game 1, 19-18. LC built a 23-20 lead, but Methacton responded with four straight points and six of the next seven to take Game 2, 26-24.
“It was great to show what they’re capable of,” Lansdale Catholic coach Rachael Picozzi said. “I tell them all the time — we get in our heads. We’re a very mental team. Servicing is where our issues lie. Once a team gets a service run on us, it’s hard to come out of that. I think they fought hard coming back out of that and really showed what they’re capable of.”
The first game went back-and-forth in the beginning, with the teams even, 6-6, after 12 points. Methacton used a 9-1 run while Meghan Hatl was serving to build a 12-6 advantage. The Warriors remained comfortably ahead until they closed out the set, 25-12, to take a 1-0 lead.
Ginther’s 14 kills led the Warriors while Mel Eglinton and Mandy Baldwin each added 10. Madi Roth posted nine digs and Hatl had 26 assists.
“If (Ginther) gets her set, she can really take good swings at that ball,” Notaristefano said. “At the end (of Game 3) there, we absolutely needed her to do that and she was able to come through pretty clutch there at the end.”
Sam Beyerle led Lansdale Catholic with nine kills while Catie Tomlinson had five, Claudia D’Alertio three and Grace Picozzi one. Madelyn McLane posted 15 digs while Julie Orzechowski added seven and Julia Kelly had six. Gabby Reigner led the team in assists while she and Katie Picozzi led the way in blocks.
Despite the loss, Lansdale Catholic thinks it can take some positives from facing a tough Methacton team from the strong Pioneer Athletic Conference.
“Us being in the PCL we don’t always see teams as competitive as Methacton sees in their league,” Rachael Picozzi said. “It was really nice to have that competition today. Being Homecoming we were hoping for a better outcome. Our team played strong, but in the end it wasn’t enough.
“We go back into PCL play (Thursday). We have two really big PCL games next week. I’m hoping to take the momentum from all the really great things I saw tonight and just ride that straight into the rest of the season.”
