EAST ROCKHILL >> Caitlyn Kuntz was steady at the service line and helped deliver some early momentum to the Pennridge girls volleyball team Wednesday night.
“Just be consistent,” said the Rams junior middle block. “And have the right toss and the right technique.”
Holding a three-point lead in the first set with visiting North Penn, Pennridge quickly grabbed firm control as it ripped off 10 straight points – the last nine with Kuntz serving – to push the margin out to 21-8.
“You hope to get four or five,” Pennridge coach Michael Fleischacker said. “But when you get 10, that’s a good way to go.”
The Rams rolled in the SOL Continental Conference match’s opening set, held off a late Knights rally in the second then pulled away in the third, bouncing back from the previous night’s loss to Central Buck West by sweeping North Penn 25-11, 26-24, 25-18.
“We played CB West last night and we fell short and so we wanted to make sure we rebounded,” Fleischacker said. “Cause we had won five in a row before that so we were feeling good where we’re at so it was a little disappointing we came out a little flat to start last night. It took us a couple sets to get warmed up, finally made a match out of it a little bit but too little, too late.
‘So tonight we wanted to make sure we started fast and come right out and keep the pressure on. The second set got away from us a little bit, we managed to hold on but then we came back and finished strong in the third.”
The Rams started the season with a four-set loss to Lansdale then dropped to 0-2 after to Abington in five but wiped away the slow start by taking the next five, including a 4-0 start in conference play. Tuesday’s four-set loss to West snapped the winning streak but Fleischacker is hoping the victory over the Knights is the start of a new one.
“We lost our first two matches of the year, wish we could have those back but that’s how you learn as well,” he said. “We learned a lot about ourselves in those and then from there we just kept growing. That’s why after the first two we ran off five in a row ‘til we met a tough team last night in West. And now we’re back on a roll again we hope to continue again.”
North Penn began 0-3 but came into Wednesday having won two straight and three of their last four. The Knights (3-5, 3-3 SOL Continental)
The loss halted North Penn’s two-match win streak. The Knights (3-5, 3-3 SOL Continental) visit Lower Merion 5 p.m. Friday then play in the Perkiomen Valley tournament Saturday.
Pennridge (6-3, 5-1) hosts Quakertown 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The Rams never trailed in the second set until North Penn erased a 23-20 deficit with four straight points to give the Knights a chance to level the match at set apiece.
“I think we just messed up a couple times and then got down and didn’t communicate as well,” Kuntz said.
Pennridge, however, answered by taking the next three points- a Nikki Rindone ace putting the hosts up 25-24 before Pennridge secured the win on its first set point.
“It’s a fine line, you want to play loose but then when you get a little too loose it can start getting away from you,” said Fleischacker, in his first season as Rams head coach. “I think that’s what happened and we had to reel it back in a little bit and refocus.”
North Penn took an early 8-3 lead in the third set after an Emma Thornton kill only for Pennridge to win the next eight points – the start of a 13-2 burst that gave the hosts a 16-10 advantage.
The Knights pulled to within three at 18-15 on a Madlen Potrusilova ace but the Rams took the next three points to go back up six.
A Kuntz dig went over the net for a point to make it 22-16 Pennridge, which won the next two for its largest lead at 24-16. North Penn fought off match point twice but a serve into the net sealed the 25-18 win.
In the opening set, the Rams never trailed after a three-point burst put them ahead 8-5. Up 11-8, Pennridge proceeded to pull away with its 10-0 run that had Kuntz on the service line and cruised to a 25-11 win.
North Penn tied the second set at 18-all after consecutive Potrusilova aces. The Knights were again even at 19 before the Rams took four of the next five for a 23-20 edge. North Penn, however, responded with a 4-0 run to go up 24-23 on Maya Miluski ace.
Pennridge knotted things at 24 the next point, Rindone’s ace giving it the lead then earning a 2-0 match lead on its first try at set point.
