West Chester East downs Pennsbury to advance to district quarterfinal

West Goshen >> West Chester East relied on some creative hitting for its 3-1 win against a persistent Pennsbury squad in the second round of the District 1 4A girls volleyball tournament Thursday.
“Pennsbury was very difficult to play defensively – they were phenomenal at picking up balls left and right, they didn’t let anything hit the floor,” said West Chester East head coach Erin Flynn. “So we had to get more creative in where we were placing the ball. That’s where I think Alexa Mork and Sofia Keith and Annie Kerns came in really key tonight. They were able to make sure they found those open spots, and they varied where they put the ball, and that really helped to kind of put us over the edge.”
The No. 6 seed Vikings needed that edge, because after winning the opening set 25-17, the hosts fell behind the 11th-seeded Falcons 15-9 in the second set. After losing the opening set, Pennsbury was hitting some laser shots in the second set that were finding open spaces.
Thanks to some creative hitting up front by Mork (21 kills Thursday) and Keith (8 kills, 3 blocks), the Vikings crept back in the second set, and finally tied the visitors at 19-19. The Falcons moved out to a 24-23 lead, but the hosts kept battling, tied the score at 25-25, then a well-placed hit by East sophomore Lauren Cuskey (7 kills, 2 digs) gave the hosts a 26-25 lead that soon became a 27-25 win.
“There were definitely some moments tonight where it was all about grit,” said Flynn. “I think that West Chester East showed tonight that they dig deep when they need to, and they came out strong.”
That second set victory turned out to be crucial, because Pennsbury again looked dominant at times in the third set, led by their powerful outside hitters, junior Jocelyn Fang (16 kills Thursday) and senior Kiersten Adair (13 kills). The Falcons went off on an early 8-0 run, and led the rest of the way for a 25-19 win.
West Chester East bounced back in the fourth set, getting out to an 18-7 lead while keeping the Falcons’ attack at bay.
“Izzy Byrnes (13 digs, 3 assists) does a great job in the back row of making sure she takes control,” said Flynn. “She’s smart, she’s very vocal, and she’s constantly moving around and communicating with everyone else on defense to make sure that we have all of our bases covered – she does a great job of that.”
Trailing 18-7, Pennsbury exploded for a 9-0 run to cut the host Vikings’ lead to 18-16. But East never relinquished its lead the rest of the game, and with some timely hitting from Cuskey and Kerns down the stretch, the Vikings prevailed for a 25-21 win.
“I’m proud of our team,” said Flunn. “They have a lot of grit and they understand what it means to be a fierce female athlete, especially one who works hard and commits and decides what they want and they go for it.”
West Chester East senior setter and co-captain Elliet Manning, who will be playing volleyball for Bentley University next fall, came up big Thursday, with 42 assists, 13 digs and 5 kills. Manning recently passed the 1,500 career assists milestone.
“Elliet is a phenomenal athlete; I’ve never seen a setter move as quickly as she does,” said Flynn earlier this season. “She is instantaneous in what she knows she needs to do, and she commits wholeheartedly; she never does anything in half-measure, and that’s what has kept us together for so long.”
With the victory, West Chester East is assured of at least two more games in the District 1 4A tournament. They will face No. 3 seed Garnet Valley Saturday in the district quarterfinals, and the loser of that game moves to the playback bracket (the top five teams in District 1 4A advance to States). Garnet Valley defeated No. 19 seed Bishop Shanahan, 3-0, in the second round of Districts Thursday.
Pennsbury head coach Tim Paulson said, “East’s setter [Manning] and No. 10 [Mork] are fantastic. [Mork] has every shot in the book. No. 6 [Cuskey] was giving us trouble tonight, too.”
Leaders for Pennsbury included Fang, Adair, senior middle Gabriella Visco (5 kills), junior middle Claire MacElroy (5 kills), senior setter Caroline Croteau (17 digs) and senior defender Stephanie Adamousky (served during the Falcons’ 9-0 run in the final set).
“In the third set, we were making good contact and getting some good high swings,” said Paulson. “We’ve been a little inconsistent throughout the season, but in the third set tonight, things were clicking, and they could feel it. When our hitters are at their best, they’re really good.”