JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

In my never-ending quest to give you every flavor from every nook and cranny of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, I offer you this nugget:

I was at Penn Manor on Tuesday night for the boys’ volleyball semifinals. And before the first match, pitting Section 1 champ Hempfield against Section 1 runner-up Manheim Township, it was your typical pre-game scene:

Both teams lined up to be introduced. The players went through the line, giving high-fives to their teammates and shaking hands with the coaches. Parents clapped. Students ambled in, looking for a good seat. The referees were introduced. The usual.

And then the PA announcer asked the crowd to stand for the national anthem. Awkward pause. Fiddling at the scorer’s table. Another awkward pause, this one even longer. Turns out the CD player at the scorer’s table wasn’t working (someone said later that the plug was kicked out of the socket).

Anyhoo … from the other side of the court comes a girl in a yellow Penn Manor shirt sprinting toward the scorer’s table, where she grabs the microphone from the PA guy and proceeds to belt out the national anthem.

And man, was it good. She hit every note. She remembered every lyric. Some of the folks in the crowd even sang along – louder than usual. And when she was done, the place went bananas, giving her a standing O. It might have been the lowdest cheer of the night, come to think of it.

So who was it who swooped in and saved the day, delivering the national anthem to the antsy crowd?

It was none other than Melissa Telesco, whose husband, Chris Telesco, is Penn Manor’s boys’ volleyball coach. The Comets were in the bleachers scouting the first game; they were set to take on Conestoga Valley in the nightcap.

And did I mention that Melissa is a music teacher at Penn Manor – hence the nice pipes.

“There was definitely some pressure there,” Melissa told me after Hempfield thumped Manheim Township 3-0 in the first match. “I didn’t even warm up – I just jumped right in.”

And delivered a stirring performance. I’m a sports writer. I go to games for a living. So trust me when I tell you that I’ve stood through a gajillion national anthems (the shortest one is at Wilson, where, every time I’m there, the guy in the press box or in the gym reminds me is 42 seconds long). But I must say, there was something about this one Tuesday night that made me pay closer attention.

“Scary part was the lyrics,” Melissa said. “I was like, ‘Wow! I hope I remember the lyrics. I should know those lyrics; I’ve been singing that song since high school.’”

Turns out Melissa has performed the national anthem before. When she was at Messiah College, she performed the anthem on the field before the NCAA Division 3 soccer playoffs when Messiah hosted the Final Four.

“The kids were really excited that I sang,” Melissa said. “A lot of the guys on the team haven’t heard me sing. I was glad they were excited.”

And everyone in the gym was excited when Melissa saved the day, delivering an unforgettable – and timely — version of our national anthem. Nice going.