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TOWAMENCIN — The Dock Mennonite Pioneers blew threw Kennett like a breeze.
In a dominant Independent League performance, Dock shut out the Blue Demons 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-21) in front of a modest yet boisterous home crowd on Friday night.
For one of the first times this season, the reigning league champion Pioneers resembled their true selves. After reaching the state playoffs the last two years, graduations took a toll on the roster.
Also, the team has dealt with several health issues. Most notably, junior outside hitter Sam DeCosta is in a walking boot with an ankle injury (his return this season is questionable), and junior setter Trevor Ridge missed time with a concussion.
“It’s been tough,” Dock coach Kirby King said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. … We’re just starting to get our system back. … Ball control is always the key, but tonight we wanted to show that we could get our offense back in rhythm, and we were able to do that. It’s fun to get our offense in rhythm again.”
Dock senior Cameron LeSuer led the charge with 15 kills. Senior Justin Panaia added six kills on eight attempts, and Ridge had 30 assists.
“I think we had a few rough games early on, but I think we realized that coming together as a team, we do a lot better,” LeSuer said. “We had a strong team last year, but obviously we lost a lot of seniors. This year, we just have to have a lot of energy and come together.
“We brought together our circle tonight,” he said. “We tend to spread apart and get down on ourselves. But keeping good energy brings momentum, which brings the kills, which brings all the plays and brings a win.”
The Pioneers (5-5, 3-2) had six total blocks in the match. They only had 21 digs, but that was because Kennett wasn’t getting quality shots over the net very often.
Dock basically cruised in the first two sets before subbing in many of its reserves cold off the bench. Some unforced errors allowed the hard-working Blue Demons to stay competitive in the third set — with Kennett often leading or just a point behind — until the Pioneers recovered to put the match away.
“I feel like we can go far this year,” LeSuer said. “We have the team. We have the energy. We just have to keep together on the court.”
Next week they have three matches — Tuesday at Lower Merion, Thursday hosting Avon Grove, and Friday at Bensalem. The Pioneers likely need to win out in the league to assure themselves another title.
“We use the language of ‘staying in system,’” King said. “That means people are where they’re supposed to be, they play the ball, and it goes to where the center is supposed to be, and we run our system. Our effort is to stay in system.”
Right now, with a long stretch coming up toward the playoffs, it’s all systems go.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
