Pope John Paul II girls volleyball outlasts Upper Merion in four sets, remains undefeated
ROYERSFORD >> In a hyped-up match between Pioneer Athletic Conference heavy-hitters, Pope John Paul II versus Upper Merion came just as advertised.
The air had the feel of a PAC final preview and both teams traded blows while vying for divisional control. Upon dropping the first set, the Golden Panthers took the following three, 18-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-17 over the Vikings to remain undefeated this fall.
“We had to improve our serve-receive, I thought,” Pope John Paul II outside hitter Hutton Cordrey said. “It was a really tough game in the beginning. I don’t think any of us were really ready for the intensity that they had.”
FINAL — Pope John Paul II 3, Upper Merion 1
Pope John Paul II takes the fourth set, 25-17 and remains undefeated on the season. pic.twitter.com/IYiDwsXBNS
— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) October 5, 2022
The opening set was a jolt to the Golden Panthers’ systems. A couple of service errors and a five-point run for Upper Merion (12-2, 10-2 PAC Frontier) midway through allowed the Vikings to play ahead. It was just the first set loss in league play for Pope John Paul II, and only the second set loss for the Golden Panthers this fall.
On top of that, Sophia Schweikert wreaked havoc for Pope John Paul II (13-0, 11-0 PAC Frontier) both offensively and defensively. A double-edged dagger, Schweikert posted a match-high 32 kills and 19 digs.
Coming off a sensational freshman season, the sophomore is continuing to be a force on the floor.
“That’s as good as you’ll see a high school player probably. Serving, she had four aces as well,” Upper Merion coach Tony Funsten said on Schweikert. “It was just a remarkable performance, but it’s something we’ve been blessed with all year. As a freshman last year, she had 480 kills in a season. As a freshman. She’s almost on the same path this year.”
For the Golden Panthers, it was more so about slowing Schweikert down all night.
“We knew lots of stuff runs through her. She’s gonna get probably 80-to-90 percent of the swings, so we tried to triple on her if she’s from the right,” Pope John Paul II coach Ryan Sell said. “We always try to block her even if she’s coming from the back row … She hits the ball really, really hard and she’s smart.”
Another kill by Schweikert gives Upper Merion an 18-13 advantage in the first set. pic.twitter.com/sY8OOqxcU3
— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) October 4, 2022
Caitlyn Daywalt padded the Vikings with 42 assists. During the second set, the Golden Panthers called timeout as their lead began evaporating after a three-point rally from Upper Merion to cut it 23-21 in favor of Pope John Paul II.
An additional point cut the set to one score before the Golden Panthers found two quick points, pulling out of the set to tie the match, 1-1. Natalie Ricevuto and Maeve Gallagher led the charge with 15 kills apiece.
“We played ahead in the first set, and then we kind of hit the wall in the second set,” Funsten said. “We didn’t get our second breath, and they did. Then we came back in that second set, put more pressure on them right to the end, pushed them a little bit, but then they kind of cracked us in the third set.”
It wasn’t until the third set that Pope John Paul II put together a scoring clinic. Down 13-12, the Golden Panthers outscored the Vikings 12-1 the rest of the way, highlighted by an ace from Gabriella Cooper (nine digs), who dominated from the line with 19 service points.
“I think we finally started to get in a rhythm,” Cordrey said. “Our hits finally started to go down and we were being way more aggressive at the net with the over passes and stuff.”
Cordrey registered 12 kills and 17 digs. Grace Cooper made 19 digs, Cynthia Jin had 14 digs and Madison Monahan added 10 with a game-high 47 assists.
Both teams alternated points in the fourth set with five straight match-tying plays before the two squads traded three-point runs, knotting the frame at 14-14. A pair of five-point runs fueled the Golden Panthers the rest of the way.
Pope John Paul II remains the top-ranked Class 3A program in District 1 while Upper Merion rolled in as the No. 8 4A team. Two of the Golden Panthers’ final five regular season games are against divisional foes Phoenixville on Oct. 10 and Upper Perkiomen on Oct. 12.
Likewise, the Vikings have two divisional games left of its five remaining in the regular season as the race for the PAC Frontier heats up.
“I think the first set, everyone was feeling it. And our kids feel some pressure, of course,” Sell said. “We’ve been good for a long time and everybody kinda comes after us, and that’s OK. My opinion, that’s what you want. But after the first set, it’s kind of a nice check for us. We started to calm down a little bit, made some plays and slowed (Schweikert) just a little bit more.”
