No. 1 Pope John Paul II wins fourth straight District 1-3A girls volleyball title over No. 3 Villa Maria Academy
ROSEMONT >> No. 1 Pope John Paul II isn’t tested much, but when it is, those tests are often aced.
Against No. 3 Villa Maria Academy, the Golden Panthers were in an unfamiliar position, having dropped just their fifth set of the year to the Hurricanes Thursday in the District 1 Class 3A championship.
But Pope John Paul II brushed it off and rallied, as it often does. The Golden Panthers held off Villa Maria in four sets (25-23, 23-25, 27-25, 25-16) at Harriton High School to punch its ticket to the PIAA state tournament.
FINAL — No. 1 Pope John Paul 3, No. 3 Villa Maria Academy 1
For the fourth straight year, the Golden Panthers are your District 1 3A champions and are heading to states after taking the fourth set, 25-16.
PJP has dropped just five sets all season. pic.twitter.com/133QBLuZPZ
— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) November 3, 2022
The win marks the fourth straight district crown for the Golden Panthers (23-0) in their 11th consecutive title match.
“It’s been a really incredible journey. I’ve been really thankful to be a part of such an amazing program and a winning legacy,” senior libero Grace Cooper said. “Each year, it’s something we want, we want to win. I think we do a really good job preparing for the offseason.
“We just really want it. I believe we can battle against anyone. Everyone came out tonight, pushed hard and glued together.”
Cooper — a four-year starter and Mercury All-Area selection — along with Ashley Mitchell, Isabella Honick, Lindsay Arezina and Ella Williams, anchored the program the last four campaigns, piling up the hardware each fall.
Madison Monahan put up a 50-piece in assists, fueling Natalie Ricevuto’s game-high 24 kills and another 18 from Mercury All-Area outside hitter Hutton Cordrey. Cooper and Cordrey made 26 digs apiece. Cindy Jin added 13 digs and Maeve Gallagher earned nine kills.
Though the numbers look nice, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Pope John Paul II. The Hurricanes (14-5) were dominant from the service line as Ciara Bradley, Alana Whitell, Leah Machita, Megan Ronan and Gabby Konrad combined for 13 aces on the night.
“I knew it was gonna be like that because we watched film on Villa and they’ve been playing really, really well. They serve really tough and you can tell because we were off the net a lot of the time, kind of scrambling a little bit,” Golden Panthers coach Ryan Sell said. “I thought they did a really good job of serving us, and that’s what you’re gonna see later in states.”
Set 3 — An ace from Leah Machita, 9-4 Villa Maria.
Another point afterward has PJP down 10-4, timeout Golden Panthers. pic.twitter.com/sVnwzw01aS
— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) November 3, 2022
Villa Maria Academy didn’t play like it, but the Hurricanes were short handed without two starters due to concussions. With the rotation it had, Villa Maria was able to climb out of an opposing nine-point run to close the gap during the first set before taking the second and going to the wire in the third.
“Unfortunately, if it wasn’t the district finals, it’s something that we could definitely use to catapult ourselves to get through the season,” Hurricanes coach Peggy Evans said. “To lose in the finals like that with close scores, it’s a heartbreaker because I think this team and I really felt we could not only compete, but win.”
To Evans’ merit, Villa Maria Academy had every reason to be confident. While the Golden Panthers may have only dropped just five sets on the year, the first came at the hands of the Hurricanes on Sept. 9.
On Thursday, Whitwell was a two-way threat with 14 kills and 13 digs while Bradley registered six kills, a pair of blocks and one dig. Gill Keaveney also posted 14 kills and three digs.
Not many teams in District 1 have been able to challenge Pope John Paul II this season. But Villa Maria Academy isn’t like most teams.
“Villa Maria, they’re a very athletic team,” Cooper said. “They get balls off, they scramble and they’ll find the seams. I think we did a good job reading them, just getting balls up and scramble plays.”
With District 1-3A only having one berth to the state tournament for winning out the bracket, the Hurricanes’ season came to an end at Harriton.
Villa Maria Academy pieced together a campaign that saw key players out with injury while other members of its ranks stepped up to become the District 1 runner-ups in the end. Evans’ credited cohesiveness and chemistry to the players’ being able to grind out the year and nearly go the distance in districts.
“They persevere. It’s like a sisterhood at Villa,” Evans said. “These girls, seeing them together and how they work together and have fun, that’s what I’ll remember. How hard they worked and the chemistry that they had.”
