Tough loss for youthful O’Hara something to build on
EXETER TWP. — A lot of coaches would have been somewhat despondent following a loss in the state quarterfinals.
Not Cardinal O’Hara’s Bill Collins.
Sure, he was disappointed following a 3-0 setback to District 11 champ Bethlehem Catholic in the elite eight of the PIAA Class 3A volleyball tournament at Exeter Township High School Saturday. But Collins wasn’t downhearted.
“With what we went through this year, if you had told me on August 15 that we would win the Catholic League back-to-back, District 12, get past the first round and get to here, sign me up,” Collins said. “Yeah, it hurts and I feel bad for the seniors, but I thought that the leadership they displayed, Maeve (Brannan) and Hayley (Denne) and the rest of the seniors, to do what they did, bring along the freshmen on and off the court and make them feel welcome, I’m really proud of them for that. And to go 22-6, they have nothing to be ashamed of.”
The Golden Hawks (18-5) had too much firepower and experience for the youthful Lions, who started three freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and two seniors.
Every time O’Hara made a run, Bethlehem Catholic had a response to pull out a 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 match win and advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against District 1 champ Pope John Paul II, which needed five sets to topple District 3 champ Twin Valley.
O’Hara trailed by at least four points in each set and made a game of it each time, coming back to tie the match in the first and second sets, and getting within two points in the final set before the Golden Hawks put the match away largely behind the play of senior hitters Kyla Rodriguez and Jodi Hewitt, and the passing of senior setter Alice Frank.
Rodriguez pounded 16 kills, Hewitt 10 and Frank dished out 30 assists.
“We worked as hard as we possibly could,” O’Hara junior Jasmine Sullivan said. “You can’t win every game. You win some and you lose some. We played great. We played with heart.”
Sullivan, the MVP of the Catholic League, paced the Lions with 12 assists, 12 digs and nine kills. Freshman Maggie Carcillo provided 11 assists, seven kills, six digs and three aces. Brannan had six kills and zero hitting errors, according to Collins. Sophomore libero Julia Riley led the defense with 18 digs.
O’Hara trailed, 13-9, in the first set, came back to take a 14-13 lead and tied the match at 17-17 before the Golden Hawks ran off eight of the next 11 points. The Lions fell behind 9-5 in the second set, fought back to square it twice before Rodriguez and Hewitt combined for five kills among the last nine points to seal it for Bethlehem Catholic. The Golden Hawks opened up a 16-9 lead in the third set. The Lions cut the deficit to 23-21 before a pair of hitting errors by the Lions secured the victory for Bethlehem Catholic.
“That’s been the story of our season,” Sullivan said. “We get down and we keep pushing and pushing as long as we possibly can. We did push back a lot.”
It just wasn’t enough.
“There are a couple of things I’d like to take back and redo, but I’m sure (the Golden Hawks) can say the same thing,” Collins said. “I’m just so proud of my team. To do what they did, with the level of experience that we have, was just remarkable.”
