JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
BLACK KNIGHTS, BUCKSKINS PUNCH TICKETS INTO L-L BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL FINALE
The L-L League boys’ volleyball Final Four was Tuesday night at Penn Manor. I had a nice, cozy seat in the press box to watch Hempfield and Conestoga Valley advance to Thursday’s title game. Can’t say I’m in love with the volleyball playoffs being stretched to three nights. There has to be a happy medium somewhere. Anyway, here’s my story from Wednesday’s New Era …
A couple of old foes are the last two teams standing in the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ volleyball tournament.
Hempfield, which has won 14 league titles in the last 18 years, and cross-town rival Conestoga Valley, which is still searching for its first league crown, both earned 3-0 victories in semifinal matches Tuesday night at Penn Manor.
In the opener, Hempfield, the Section 1 champ, survived a tricky third game and knocked off Section 1 runner-up Manheim Township 25-15, 25-20, 27-25.
And in the nightcap, CV, the Section 1 third-place finisher, topped host Penn Manor, the Section 1 fourth-place finisher, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22.
The Black Knights and the Buckskins will square off for league supremacy Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Warwick. Hempfield is the defending champ. CV is back in the finals for the first time since 2004.
“Hopefully this is our year to take it away from Hempfield,” said CV middle blocker Chris Cannon, who had eight kills and three blocks in the Bucks’ win over Penn Manor – CV’s third victory over the Comets this season; the Bucks swept their regular-season series, and made it 3-for-3 after surviving a nip-and-tuck third game Tuesday.
The turning point for CV came when the Bucks fell behind 14-8 in the third and coach Al Kofroth called a timeout.
“We talked about getting back to basics,” CV’s coach said. “We talked about making good passes and talking.”
The Bucks responded, rallying to take an 18-17 lead on Kevin Wile’s kill, and eventually building a 21-17 cushion before winning 25-22.
Cannon had two huge kills during the run, when the Comets – who rallied from a 2-0 deficit and knocked off Section 2 champ Lancaster Mennonite 3-2 in the quarterfinals less than 24 hours earlier – simply conked out.
“We ran out of magic,” Penn Manor coach Chris Telesco said.
Jordon Weber had 13 kills and Pete Welch had three blocks for the Comets, while Joe Hughes added seven kills and a pair of blocks for the Bucks.
Here’s an added twist to CV’s journey to the league title game:
The Bucks beat Garden Spot in the quarterfinals Monday night and eliminated Penn Manor in the semifinals Tuesday night. The league final is Thursday night. But CV will not get any rest tonight, because the Bucks have to play Manheim Central in a District 3 Double-A seeding match at 6 at Hempfield.
If CV loses that match, it must take on Elizabethtown at 7:30 p.m.
If CV loses both matches, it will be eliminated from the district playoffs, and the Bucks’ season would be over following the L-L League title tilt. Either way, that’s four pressure-packed matches in four nights for CV, which is hoping not to wilt.
“It’s tiring,” Cannon admitted. “But we’re excited about going to the league finals. It’s anyone’s game at this point. This league is so tight right now – anybody can win this final.”
Including Hempfield, which played a workmanlike match against Township on Tuesday. The Blue Streaks didn’t have a single lead until it was 22-21 in the third. But the Knights survived, finally clinching a victory on their third match point.
Hempfield had some motivation for this match: Township knocked off the Knights on April 29, and that provided some inspiration for Hempfield.
“We talked about that, but only for about 10 seconds,” Knights’ coach Mike Vogel said. “I reminded them that there was sort of a revenge factor here. They beat us. And I thought that got our kids focused.”
It showed, particularly in the first two games, when Hempfield was all business.
Ohio State recruit Shawn Sangrey had his way at the net, piling up 22 kills. Will Power and Ed Rodichok had nine kills apiece for Township, which made it interesting for a while in the third game.
“We knew Township beat us, and we knew they were a good team,” Hempfield setter Mike Becker said. “So we all really dug down. We’re all playing really well right now … we want that league title again.”
