TOWAMENCIN — For most of the first two sets, it looked like Central Bucks West was going to run away with a win. Then, the officials intervened.
After that, North Penn intervened.
It was only after 2 hours, 40 minutes, filled with wild swings in momentum, that West knocked off the Knights 3-2 (25-16, 27-25, 16-25, 23-25, 15-13) in an SOL Continental matchup on the road Tuesday night.
North Penn rallied from two sets down to force a fifth — and then rallied from nine points down in that final set — before the Bucks eventually closed it out.
“I think we all really worked together and we just pushed through it,” said CB West’s Kya Lynch, who had 20 digs, 14 kills and two aces. “We realized we were playing against a good team and we really needed to step up. It’s a really great accomplishment as a team, because we hadn’t had a great start to the season. So I’m proud of us.”
West’s Elisa Kremser finished with 20 assists, 17 digs and three kills. Emily Ferrese had 19 digs, and Erinn McCusker added five kills.
The hustling Bucks (2-2) seemed to clinch the second set 26-24 on a service violation by North Penn (3-4), so they didn’t return it and started celebrating. But the up ref ruled the serve good, and the set went on.
Two points later, the same official nearly upheld a bad line call, which benefited North Penn, but eventually got the call correct and CB West escaped 27-25.
The officiating was questionable much of the night. Still, after the second set, the Knights came out strong in the third, with a renewed vigor and focus, to open up a 7-0 lead. The Bucks were on their heels and couldn’t recover.
North Penn maintained a narrow lead early in the third set before briefly pulling away. The Bucks scratched their way back into it, but unforced errors and lack of communication — along with solid execution by the resilient Knights — prevented them closing the gap.
“I think (in the middle sets) we started playing the way my team normally plays,” North Penn coach Jynell Brunt said. “The first two sets were not us at all. Set three, that comeback, that’s how my team plays regularly.
“We’ve had a lot of girls out sick, struggling,” she said. “I think that’s just wearing on us right now. They way we came back. You don’t normally see a team with enough fight and enough guts to do that. My girls have it. We just started too late.”
The Knights fell behind 12-3 in the fifth set, but steadily righted the ship and charged to within a point at 14-13. A well-placed return by CB West ended it.
“I think I lost a few years on my life,” CB West coach Todd Miller said. “We got into our own heads. We started passing… not well. We started making mistakes and gave them too many points. But I think our girls did a great job of coming out in the fifth, controlling the tempo to start, getting enough lead that you’re comfortable enough that we were able to settle in at the end when it was tight, and just make the right decision and put the ball away.
“We’re a young team,” Miller said. “They’re definitely a little bit more seasoned than we are. I think, ultimately, with what we did in this situation as young as we are, it speaks volumes for the heart of these girls and the way they can come together.”
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Note: North Penn had no official stats immediately available.
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X @the_defranc.