Volleyball: Weins, Woods help keep Garnet Valley dominant in win over Lower Merion

ROYERSFORD — The first set hung in the balance Saturday morning as Sarah Wood wound up a swing of her mighty right arm.

Garnet Valley hadn’t yet warmed to the task in the second round of the PIAA Class 4A volleyball tournament at Spring-Ford High, stuck in a 14-all first set against Lower Merion. Off a set from big sister Maddie Wood and a cross-court, line-clipping finish, the fabulous freshman turned the tide for good.

That kill was one of a game-high 14 for Sarah Wood, leading District 1 champion Garnet Valley into the state semifinals via a 3-0 win over the District 1 third-place Aces.

“It was just really a momentum shift for the entire game; 14-14, you’re halfway through the game,” Maddie Wood said. “Things are going to be neck and neck until then, and then one team pushes ahead. That’s how it usually goes. That was the momentum shift, and we went full gas after that.”

From Sarah Wood’s putaway, the Jaguars tallied nine of the next 11 points on the way to a 25-19 win in Game 1. They were rarely pushed in the last two, 25-16 and 25-15, to reach the state semis for the first time since 2018.

So much of the Jaguars’ power goes through the Wood sister axis. Maddie, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, had 41 assists and four kills. Her intelligence running the offense is matched only by her penchant for creating chances out of chaos, a major tipping point between the Central League foes. Where messy possessions turned into free balls lumped over by the Aces, Wood converted them to dangerous sets.

“Her ability to spread out the ball and spread out the offense despite Sarah being able to put it down as well, she’s able to trick any team into whatever they want to go,” senior middle Sarah Weins said. “She knows where to put the ball and has good timing.”

Then there’s Sarah Wood, a towering presence on the backline. Her serve reception is as strong as defensive specialists like libero Madison Snelgrove and Abby Houpt, and her back-row attacks are a weapon that few at this level possess.

All of it was humming along Saturday. Weins set the tone with two kills early in the first set, then forced Lower Merion into a timeout with a kill and a block to make it 12-6 in the second. The Aces fought back to within 17-14 before another Weins block stemmed the momentum.

“Having confidence in my swing and knowing where to put the ball every time has really helped me,” Weins said. “Having those big kills motivated me to serve better and pass better because after you get a big kill and you go to the back, it helps you focus better and have that confidence to do well.”

It took Lower Merion (21-5) the better part of two sets to settle in. Junior outside hitter Brooke Johnson didn’t get her first kill until early in the second, Garnet Valley’s mobile block unsettling her. She finished with seven kills and a block, and senior Claire Hamilton added seven kills. But it wasn’t enough for an Aces team making just its second states berth and first since 2004. They remained resilient, even against a Garnet Valley side that handled them comfortably, 3-0, in the regular season.

“We were prepared for that, but as it showed, making mistakes in service and where we shouldn’t have mistakes and things like that,” LM coach and Haverford grad Lauren Perri said. “It still just is the mental factor for us of, you’ve got to go through this team for league, you’ve got to go through this team at districts and even now at the state level. It’s tough.”

“No one wants to beat us more than they did,” Maddie Wood said. “So knowing that, it’s like, you’ve got to show up. You’ve got to bring your game, and we absolutely did.”

The Jags had too much attacking potency. Weins supplied five kills and three blocks. Sophomore middle Isabella Tront added four kills, including one to cap the second set. Klaira Zakarian led the outside hitters with nine kills. Kelly St. Germain added seven, including two straight in turning an 11-10 edge to 15-10 in the third. Maddie Wood tapped down a quick set and set up two Abby Hendrixson kills to finish it off and send the Jaguars (24-1) within two wins of a state title.

“We’re prepared, we’re ready for it,” Maddie Wood said. “But it’s also win or your done forever. So you’ve got to keep winning.”