By STEPHEN CORNELL COURIER TIMES Stephen Cornell can be reached at stephen.cornell@gmail.com.

   Council Rock-North rookie coach Kinsey Finn didn’t have a whole lot of time to ease into her new job.

    Within a few weeks of the season’s start, the Indians had suffered a rash of injuries.

    At one point, less than three weeks into the season, the Indians were down to their third setter because alldistrict senior setter Kelly Mee missed a total of 5 1/2 weeks with a severe ankle sprain and fill-in junior Gloria Kim left one match on a stretcher.

    The Indians never seemed to let the injuries get them down. They finished 14-4 overall and 11-3 in the Suburban One League Continental Conference and defeated Quakertown and rival Pennsbury in the Class AAA District One tournament before falling to perennial power Villa Maria in the quarterfinals.

    “I think as a whole we had a really, really successful season,” said Finn, the 2006 Courier Times Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year. “We had a lot of accomplishments — individual and team.”

    Mee returned from her injury and earned second team all-district honors. Junior middle hitter Layne Adams was a first team All-SOL Continental selection and a third team all-district pick. Senior outside hitter Hali Stark earned second team All-SOL honors, while Kim and senior libero Carley Casado were voted honorable mention All-SOL.

    “I’m so proud of the girls for the way they battled the injuries and our tough schedule,” Finn said.

Curtain closes

The Council Rock-North team that had gone to Pennsbury and pulled off a major volleyball stunner last week was back at it, threatening to take the first game comfortably and throw a serious scare into a program that had won nine District One titles since 1994.

“We wanted our girls to be the first ones to five and to win the first game,” Indians volleyball coach Kinsey Finn said. “It was so important for us to get that first game and to build momentum.”

But momentum in the post-season can be a fickle thing. And quicker than you could spend $100 at a Main Line mall, the Indians' season was over.

CR-North lost a five-point lead late in the first game and never quite recovered, falling to Villa Maria Academy by a 3-0 score Tuesday night in the District One Class AAA volleyball semifinals.

The 11th-seeded seed Indians finished the year at 14-5 and advancing two games deep into the post-season.

“We're all proud of the effort that we gave in these playoffs,” senior co-captain Hali Stark said. “We're disappointed it ended this way, but we have so much that we can look back on and be proud.”

“This was a great group to have in your senior season,” the other senior co-captain, Kelly Mee, said. “All the girls worked really hard and we had a lot of fun.”

Villa Maria — seeded third in the tournament — will play Ridley in a district semifinal on Thursday.

That fun looked like it was going to continue in the first game. Taking advantage of some unforced Hurricane errors and playing solid, mistake-free volleyball, the Indians grabbed a 19-14 lead late in the first game and appeared to have everything going their way.

But in a flash, it was gone. Villa Maria scored 11 of the next 14 points, rallying to win the first game by a 25-22 margin.

“We had some unforced mistakes that really hurt us,” Finn said. “And when you play a team as talented as they are, you can't have unforced errors.”

“Nobody at the time thought that we were going to suffer a letdown,” Stark said. “At that point, you just want to keep going and keep playing. But now that you look back at that, that part of the game was huge for us.”

But for a team filled with young players, just going through this experience could pay benefits down the road.

“We had four great seniors, but our other players were able to get a good feel and experience for what it takes to go deep in the playoffs,” Finn said. “We proved that we can play with anyone. And now, we just have to keep building from that next season.”

Indians have Falcons’ number this year

By JASON HASLAM
Bucks County Courier Times

FAIRLESS HILLS— It was two weeks ago that changed everything.

Two weeks ago that Council Rock-North beat Pennsbury in a regularseason match. So while the Falcons came into the postseason with a first-round bye and a No. 6 seed, the No. 11 Indians were not apprehensive entering the Falcons Nest.

It proved true as the CR-North controlled the match from the outset in pulling off a mild upset over the defending District champs Pennsbury, 3-1 Thursday night in the second round of the District One Class AAA playoffs. The Indians won 25-22, 12-25, 25-22, 25-19.

The Indians will be at No. 3 seed Villa Maria on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals. A win over Villa Maria will give the Indians at least a berth into the state playoffs.

Coming into this season,the Indians had not defeated the Falcons in nine years. Now they have won two straight in as many tries in one season.

“It changed us tremendously after we beat them,” CR-North coach Kinsey Finn said. “We had confidence, but we knew it would be a fight [Thursday].”

After splitting the first two games, by the third game both teams battled back and forth, resulting in eight ties. With the score knotted 22-22, CR-North’s Sarah Kiely broke the tie with a kill and from there the Indians would take the game.

It seemed natural the Falcons would charge back, but in fourth game, the Indians scored five straight points to take an 11-6 advantage. From there, the Indians would never trail again, despite giving up points on three errant serves in the final game.

“I think we had confidence because we beat them this year,” said Hali Stark, who had 16 digs and six kills. “No matter what, it was going to be a touch match.”

Pennsbury coach Tim Paulson continued to use his timeouts to settle his team down, but it couldn’t stop the Indians from controlling the middle of the court, particularly Layne Adams who had 11 kills. After his Falcons easily took the second game, he thought his squad would be fine.

“When we went up in the second, I thought we would get back in stride,” Paulson said. “They just played real well.”

The Indians also saw Carley Casado get 17 digs and Kelly Mee added 29 assists and 13 digs.

“I think a big part of it is we came in with confidence,” Finn said. “We’ve been preparing for this game. The girls focused and they wanted it, they dug down and found a way to win.”

Jason Haslam can be reached at jhaslam@phillyBurbs.com.

Pennsbury next up for Indians

NEWTOWN — After her volleyball team played, and beat, Pennsbury last Wednesday, Council Rock-North middle hitter Layne Adams left the match with the following impression:

“They're very focused,” Adams said of the Falcons, whom the Indians will face again on Thursday night in the second round of the District One Class AAA tournament. “They do not give up on a single ball. Every ball, they always fight for it.”

In that case, CR-North's first-round clash with Quakertown on Tuesday was the perfect tune-up for Pennsbury Part Two.

The 11th-seeded Indians beat the 22nd-seeded Panthers in three games: 26-24, 25-16, 25-22. But it was by no means a cakewalk.

Despite having no real attack at the net, Quakertown seemed to keep every ball alive with sharp, scrappy defense. That allowed the Panthers to hang dangerously close in the first and third games.

“They don't have the aggressive hitters that we're used to seeing, but they dig everything,” CR-North coach Kinsey Finn said. “That can be really frustrating, because you have to keep moving the ball around and trying different spots until you find that spot to get a kill.”

Adams, a junior, led the charge with a team-high 11 kills and three aces. She almost singlehandedly clinched the second game, scoring five of her team's final seven points.

Cheryl Yohannan chipped in eight kills for CR-North, and Sarah Kiely had seven kills. Setter Kelly Mee added seven kills and 30 assists.

Of course, after the win, CR-North's focus shifted quickly to sixth-seeded Pennsbury. The Falcons won the district title last season and advanced all the way to the PIAA quarterfinals in York. They've long been the standard-bearer in Lower Bucks County high school volleyball.

“I'm so excited,” Adams said of the rematch, which will take place at Pennsbury. “I'm ready for it. The whole team is ready for it.”

CR-North heads into the second round with confidence, having just beaten Pennsbury in five games. But in that match, the Indians learned how hard they'll have to work if they want to do it again.

“I think we're both going in with a pretty even playing field Thursday night,” Finn said. “A lot of the coaches in the district have been saying that the district title is really up for grabs. It's really going to be a fight to the end, every single point. We've been preparing for Pennsbury over the last week, and the girls know it's going to be a fight.”

CR-North's opening win memorable

It didn't matter that it was the first week of the season. Or that it was only the first of two regular-season meetings.

Council Rock-North packed its gym for a 25-23, 25-20, 25-18, victory over archrival CR-South last Thursday night.

“It was an amazing match. The girls played so in sync,” CR-North first-year head coach Kinsey Finn said. “I saw some of the best defense we've played. I think it sets the tone for the whole season.”

Senior outside hitter Hali Stark had six kills and 12 digs, and junior middle Layne Adams had six kills. Senior libero Carley Casado finished with 14 digs, and junior setter Gloria Kim had 21 assists and three kills.

Although the season is only in its second week, CR-North has already had to deal with a bunch of key injuries.

Adams and senior middle Kate Campbell have both missed time. Adams came back in time for the CR-South match and had an immediate impact.

Senior setter Kelly Mee missed the first two matches with a sprained ankle and could be out a little while longer. Kim, who filled in extremely well, is also now hurt.

“It's been a very trying season,” Finn said. “(But) the amount of heart the girls have played with is incredible. This team has shown a willingness to overcome difficulties.”