JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
When it comes to girls’ volleyball programs in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, the benchmark is Hempfield.
The Black Knights have won the last five L-L League championships in a row, have won a record seven L-L League titles, and the group of seniors who graduated last spring never lost a game in league play — section play, crossovers, league playoffs — in four years.
Hempfield went 70-0 in matches and 206-0 in games over that incredible four-year clip.
The Knights have also won two state championships in the last three years, including the PIAA Triple-A crown last fall.
So Hempfield, naturally, is the favorite to win it all again this season, right?
Not so fast, spike fans.
Garden Spot had a breakthrough season a year ago. The Spartans overcame rival Conestoga Valley in a one-match playoff to win the Section 2 championship, reached the L-L League semifinals, and went 9-0 in pool play in the district playoffs before falling to Hempfield in the District 3 Triple-A quarterfinals — coming up just short of making States.
And with eight key players back from last year’s team — including All-State senior setter Maria Horning — Garden Spot just might supplant Hempfield as the team to beat this fall.
“It’s Garden Spot,” Hempfield coach Mike Vogel said, “and everybody else.”
Hempfield is ranked seventh in Triple-A in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
And even though the Knights lost Division I recruits Christi Griffiths (Fordham) and Amy Wengrenovich (Villanova) to graduation, they’ll still be in the hunt.
“Hempfield has always been the big guy,” Horning said. “I call them the big, bad Black Knights because it seems like they win all the time. They’re always very consistent with their success, and that’s something we’re shooting for as our program progresses.
“This year, hopefully we stand more of a chance instead of being the underdogs.”
The Spartans haven’t played like underdogs out of the chute.
Garden Spot is off to a fast 4-0 start — including a 3-0 victory over Section 2 rival CV, the reigning five-time league runner-up — and the Spartans are the fifth-ranked Triple-A team in the state.
“We won the section last year, so there will be a bit of a bull’s-eye this year,” Horning said. “And I think everyone around knows what we have coming back, and that we have some good talent here. So we might feel some pressure from that.
“Our goal is to take this one step at a time.”
Garden Spot has also won a pair of tournaments this season, including the Creason Classic, which featured 24 teams, and last weekend’s Spartan Invitational, which featured 20 teams.
In the Spartan Invitational, Garden Spot topped Reading Holy Name (ranked fifth in the state in Single-A), Reading Central Catholic (sixth in Single-A and the defending state champ), and Lancaster Mennonite (fifth in Double-A).
“There is a little more pressure now since we won the section last year,” Garden Spot junior middle blocker Ashley Schnader said. “I’ve heard some people talking about us as the team to beat. The only thing we’re worrying about right now is going out there, playing our best and playing like we know we can play.”
And if the Spartans can do that, there could be some gold medals at the end of the rainbow.
“There are a lot of big motivation factors for this group,” Garden Spot coach Dennis Werner said. “Like defending the section title, competing for the league final, and competing to get in the final four in districts with a chance of making States.
“We have a lot of experience and a lot of talent, so for us, it’s all about being consistent. Our kids have put in the work in the off-season, and they practice harder than any team I’ve ever had.”
If the Spartans play like everyone else thinks they will, the L-L League championship trophy just might be headed to New Holland — not Landisville — later this fall.
