Golden comeback

By STEPHEN CORNELL
Bucks County Courier Times

HOLLAND - Even when they trailed two games to none to archrival Council Rock-North in a best-of-five District One Class AAA volleyball quarterfinal match, Council Rock-South senior Kandice Watson insists that the Golden Hawks never got down.

Losing the first two apparently didn't shake them up too much.

"I really don't think it even crossed our minds," Watson said. "It was about winning the next three games. That's how we were thinking about it."

Third-seeded CR-South bounced back to win three straight games to defeat No. 6 CR-North, 21-25, 9-25, 25-21, 25-20, 18-16.

The Golden Hawks (18-2) earned their first berth in the state volleyball playoffs in the program's fourth season and face Pennsbury (16-0) in the district semifinals at Hatboro-Horsham High School at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.

All four teams in the district final four qualify for the state playoffs, which begin on Nov. 8.

"Going to states means everything for us," CR-South senior Chelsea Cancelliere said. "We've been working for this forever."

Watson had 18 kills, 16 digs and two blocks, while Cancelliere finished with 14 kills, 12 digs and one block. Watson's block on the match's final point gave CR-South the victory.

Senior outside hitter Aly Hinton had 13 kills and senior outside hitter Jill Batten had nine kills for CR-North (13-4). Senior Krysta Mee (eight kills), junior Kelly Mee (eight kills) and senior Colleen Kluber (five blocks) also played well.

Three of the Indians' four losses this season were to CR-South in five-game matches. CR-North did edge South at the Quakertown tournament in three games in September.

"We have a senior group of girls that has been together quite a while," CR-North coach Mike Flaherty said. "They really worked hard to earn this opportunity. They were really hoping that they could hold on to win."

After a dominant 25-9 win in Game 2, it looked like CR-North might just roll to an upset win.

"We just came out flat," CR-South coach Sue Kilian said. "We couldn't get anything together. I don't think we even played in the second game. (But) I told them that we'd worked hard since August 15th, and they had to make a decision whether they wanted it to end now or wanted to keep going. Obviously, they chose to keep going."

CR-South built early leads in the third and fourth games, and the Indians came back both times. CR-North led Game 3, 17-16, and was tied, 19-19, late in Game 4.

The Indians actually led Game 5 by three points, 14-11, but couldn't close it out.

Cancelliere served three straight points in the fifth game to give CR-South a one-point lead, 15-14. Watson had kills for the Golden Hawks' next two points leading to her match-ending block.

"We're a very young program," Kilian said. "There were times when we needed Kandice and Chelsea to step it up and they did."

"We didn't come out strong enough. We took them for granted since we'd beaten them twice," Cancelliere said. "(But) we weren't going to just give up. We beat them in five games in the first two matches, and we didn't want this to be the last time we stepped on the court."

Stephen Cornell can be reached at stephen.cornell@gmail.com.

Unfortunately for the Blue Demons, they lost all three as the host Indians posted a 3-0 shutout.

Kennett concluded its season with a 14-5 record, while Council Rock North, now 13-3, earned a quarterfinal berth against Council Rock South -- the team that administered two of those three losses.

Kennett faced a lot of obstacles Thursday night -- starting with a bus ride to Bucks County that lasted well over an hour.

Once the 11th-seeded Blue Demons arrived at their destination, they had to do battle with a talented and very tall team on its own court.

To beat the sixth-seeded Indians, Kennett’s girls would have had to play an extremely good match -- just a good match would not have been good enough.

As it was, they played a good match.

Still, Kennett gave Council Rock North all it could handle, and every game was close heading into the stretch. The score was knotted at 23-all in the first game - until the host’s 6-foot-1 hitter, Colleen Kluber, delivered a block and a tip to give her team a 25-23 win.

In the second game, a three-point, two-ace service run by Sara Kelly brought the Blue Demons to within two points of their hosts at 21-19. The Indians then used their superior size to score four of the next five points and post a 25-20 victory.

In the third game, it was déjà vu time as another three-point service run by Kelly brought the Blue Demons to within two points of their hosts at 21-19. This time, it was a pair of aces by Council Rock North’s Carley Casado that secured the win for the Bucks County squad.

"Kennett was a really strong team," said Council Rock North coach Mike Flaherty. "Their girls really battled. There was one point near the end of the second game when the ball must have gone over the net eight times. If they got the point, it would have been 22-21. Instead, we were up 23-20. We had to work hard for this win."

Ray Basilio, Kennett’s veteran coach, said, "You can’t take anything away from Council Rock North. They’re tall and they hit the ball extremely hard."

Council Rock North ranks high in team height with Pennsbury and Avon Grove. Three of the Indians’ regulars are 6-1 and they have another girl who is 6-0. Three other players in their regular rotation are 5-9 and another is 5-7.

"We all worked hard," said Kennett’s strong-hitting co-captain, Taylor Jaros. "It could have been anybody’s game. But when it got close -- they’ve got such power hitters and they’re so tall. That made a big difference.

Still, this was one of Kennett’s best seasons in a long time."

Julie Visk, the other co-captain, agreed.

"We have a good group of girls and we’ve done really well," she said. "This was a frustrating loss, but they were a good team. We just didn’t execute the way we needed to. They played better than we did."

Basilio praised his captains as well as all of his players.

"I thought Julie Visk had an awesome game. She controlled the offense and had 18 assists," Basilio said. "Taylor had 11 kills and three blocks and Devin Buchanan had five kills and two blocks. Danni Shelton played great defense. She had 12 digs and she was passing the ball extremely well."

CR schools headed for showdown

There could be one more installment of the area's best girls volleyball rivalry.

If CR-North and CR-South win their first District One Class AAA tournament games on Thursday, the rival programs will meet next Tuesday in the district quarterfinals with a trip to the state playoffs on the line.

CR-South (16-2), seeded third in the district, holds a slight edge following the regular season. The Golden Hawks nipped CR-North twice to earn the Suburban One Continental Conference crown.

The Indians (12-3), the No. 6 seed in the district, beat CR-South in the semifinals of the Quakertown Invitational on Sept. 17.

CR-South's only losses during the regular season were to district No. 1 seed Villa Maria and No. 2 seed Pennsbury. South's first two games in a nonleague match against Villa Maria last week were tight. The Golden Hawks lost Game 1, 32-20, and Game 2, 25-23, before falling in Game 3.

Golden Hawks senior outside hitter Kandice Watson had 32 kills in three matches last week, while junior middle blocker Alyson Stark had 24 kills and 13 blocks.

CR-North's regular-season losses were to CR-South and Pennsbury. The Indians are coming off of a quarterfinals loss to district Class AA top seed Upper Merion at the Unionville tournament last weekend.

"We saw what we can do when we're consistent," CR-North coach Mike Flaherty said. "We have a number of girls doing great things."

Senior middle hitter Colleen Kluber leads the Indians in kills and blocks. Flaherty also complimented the play of senior outside hitters Aly Hinton and Jill Batten.

Area teams may secure high seeds

Three local teams should be seeded in the top 10 in the District One Class AAA volleyball tournament when the seedings are finalized tonight.

Suburban One National Conference champion Pennsbury and Villa Maria will almost certainly be the top two seeds, with the No. 1 pretty much a toss-up.

The Falcons are currently ranked No. 15 in the state by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, while Villa Maria is No. 12. The two teams have not played this season.

Villa Maria won the district last year, has won five of the last seven district championships and reached the district final in all seven of those seasons.

Pennsbury won the district title in 2003 and has finished in the district's top three five times in the last six seasons.

SOL Continental Conference champ Council Rock-South could be seeded in the top four. CR-South's only regular-season loss going into Tuesday match against Villa Maria was to Pennsbury.

CR-North, which finished second in the SOL Continental, is hoping for a seed in the top eight. The Indians have lost only to Pennsbury and CR-South (twice).

First-round play begins Oct. 25. The semifinals are on Nov. 3 and the finals and consolation matches are on Nov. 5. Four Class AAA teams qualify for the state tournament.

Battle on for playoffs

For the first time in a long time the PIAA District One Class AAA seeding meeting, scheduled for Wednesday night at Westover Country Club in Jeffersonville, could be rather suspenseful.

According to several area coaches, this year's tournament selections will not necessarily be based on those teams with .500 or better records.

"They just changed the rule," said Central Bucks West coach Ben Martin, whose team sits on the fence with a 7-8 record after Tuesday's win over Central Bucks East. "Now, it's the top 23 teams in the districts that get in. The last couple of years, they've taken 29 or 30 teams, so now I'm not so sure."

North Penn is 9-1, with its only SOL National Conference loss coming in four games to district power Pennsbury three weeks ago. The Maidens get a rematch with the Falcons next Thursday, but by then the seeds will be determined.

Hatboro-Horsham, a secure third-place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference behind power teams Council Rock North and South, has a 10-4 overall record. Only in the second year of existence as a program, the Hatters have a chance to land a home first-round match.

Souderton still has matches with Hatboro-Horsham (Monday) and Council Rock South (Wednesday) left before the seeding meeting. With a 9-6 record, though, the Indians are probably in pretty good shape.

Quakertown is 7-5 and also has only match before the seeding meeting, Tuesday at Cheltenham. With eight wins the Panthers should make the field as well.

That leaves West, and Martin thinks his team needs to win its two matches against Cheltenham (Friday) and Plymouth Whitemarsh (Tuesday), prior to the seeding meeting to secure a spot.

The elite teams in the Class AAA field will likely be Villa Maria and Pennsbury, which are ranked 13th and 17th in the state in the most recent Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Top 20. Mount St. Joseph, Council Rock North, Council Rock South, and Upper Merion all figure to be in the mix for the four District One berths into the state playoffs.

The second round of the tournament is Oct. 27, followed by the quarterfinals Nov. 1, the semis Nov. 3, and the championship slated for Nov. 5.

Regionals are Nov. 8, with the state championships slated for Nov. 10-11 at Central York High School.

Council Rock-North senior middle hitter Colleen Kluber has 86 kills, 60 blocks and 14 service aces in 12 matches. Kluber leads the team in blocks and is among the team leaders in kills.

"She's doing a really nice job," Indians coach Mike Flaherty said. "[Kluber] has led the team a number of times in kills. She's doing everything you could ask of a young person."

CR-North is second in the Suburban One Continental Conference. The Indians' only two league losses have been to rival Council Rock-South. CR-North has beaten the Golden Hawks in tournament play.

Coming up aces

Pennsbury needed only to pick its poison from the service line on Tuesday night against Council Rock-North. Every serve that cleared the net turned out to be lethal.

The Falcons recorded 19 aces in the match, a quick three-game affair that boosted their perfect record to 12-0. Eight of Pennsbury's 14 active players had at least one ace, and setter Meredith Sinback had six all by herself.

"We were definitely serving it well today, compared to other games we've played," said senior Dana Mitchell, the Falcons' starting middle hitter. "It was just on today. It felt so good."

CR-North, which lost to Pennsbury in the championship game of the Quakertown Invitational tournament last month, didn't fare any better this time on Pennsbury's home turf. The Indians dropped to 10-3 overall after falling 25-8, 25-13, 25-19.

"We weren't ready to pass balls," CR-North coach Mike Flaherty said. "We were tentative. We were nervous. We weren't ready to do the little things that we can do well. ... On our serve receive, when we had to pass balls, we just weren't able to ever get going."

Sinback and Kaitlyn Cunliffe started the assault in Game One, combining for seven aces. Cunliffe added three more - all in a row - in the second game.

"I think that really took [the Indians] out of the game," Sinback said of her team's serving success. "You could see, by the middle of the second game, they were gone. I think it was just because we were tough serving. We work on that a lot at practice, and it really paid off."

Falcons coach George Eastburn replaced five of his six starters (all except Sinback) in the third game, and CR-North managed to jump out to an 8-4 lead.

Krysta Mee's service ace tied the score at 4-4. Aly Hinton's solo block gave the Indians the lead. After a kill by Colleen Kluber, a team block by Hinton and Kluber and another Mee ace, CR-North had hope.

Then, Eastburn sent Mitchell back into the action. Her solo block started a string of six unanswered points for Pennsbury, and before the Indians knew what hit them, Mitchell was pounding the game point down on their side of the net.

"In the third game, it was nice to see if we were going to step up and play," Flaherty said, "and we were - for a moment. And then [Eastburn] brought [Mitchell] in, and that just shows you how one player can change the course of a game."

Pennsbury hopes its overall dominance on Tuesday night will carry over into the weekend. The Falcons head to State College on Saturday for the Little Lion tournament, and they're especially hungry after finishing second last year.

"We want to win it," Sinback said. "I think we're really looking forward to trying to get back to the finals and try to take it this time."

Council Rock-North visits Souderton in a key SOL Continental match on Friday. The Indians are fighting for second place in the league. Senior outside hitter Aly Hinton, junior setter Kelly Mee and junior outside hitter Hali Stark are playing well for CR-North.

NORRISTOWN - Colleen Kluber had seven kills, Jill Batten and Kelly Mee had three aces apiece, and Caitlin Reinert contributed five blocks for CR-North in its nonleague win over Norristown. The Indians improved to 7-1 on the year.

NEWTOWN — CR-North won in straight games, 25-12, 26-24, 25-14, to down CB South in a nonleague match.

Colleen Kluber and Krysta Mee had three aces apiece. Kluber also had eight kills and four blocks for the Indians (6-1).

The cream definitely rose to the top at the Quakertown Invitational on Saturday, as Pennsbury won the tournament with a close two-game win over Council Rock North.

Schuylkill Valley and Council Rock South were the other two semifinalists, while locally North Penn had the best showing, going 5-3 in pool play and losing in the quarterfinals to CR South.

CR-North on a roll in SOL

The Indians (4-1 overall, 4-1 SOL Continental) have won four straight league matches and advanced all the way to the finals of the Quakertown Invitational last weekend before losing to state-ranked Pennsbury.

At Quakertown, CR-North rolled to an 8-0 record in pool play, beating state-ranked Merion Mercy twice, and defeated Bethlehem Liberty in the quarterfinals.

Against CR-South in the best-of-three semifinals, the Indians won the decisive third game, 16-14.

"Pennsbury's so incredibly solid. It's nice for us to get a chance to play them," Indians coach Mike Flaherty said. "At the end, a lot of the Pennsbury girls came over and gave our girls hugs. Many of them play club together. It was a touching moment to see the class [Pennsbury] had and the respect and the admiration the girls have for each other."

CR-North rebounded from a loss to rival CR-South with a win over CB East. Senior outside hitters Aly Hinton and Krysta Mee, and senior middle Colleen Kluber have played well. "There are moments where we play really nice," coach Mike Flaherty said. "We're finding ways to work together."