With the regular season drawing to a close, the Faith Christian girls volleyball team has its collective eye on the prize.
The reward up for grabs is the top seed in the District One Class A tournament, which begins Tuesday, Oct. 25.
The Lions have spent much of the season in the top spot in the rankings, but are in a close race with Upper Bucks Christian to capture the first slot in the tourney.
Faith Christian helped its cause with a 3-0 win over visiting Plumstead Christian in a Bicentennial Athletic League contest on Tuesday. Faith posted game scores of 25-12, 25-13 and 25-20.
“We’re having a really good season,” Faith middle blocker Angie Forsythe said. “It’s been great because I really love this team with all my heart. I couldn’t be more thankful for this team. To have this kind of team, where I really like every girl on it, and to have this for my senior year is so special.
“Plumstead started to come back in the third game but we kept our cool. We switched some things up and had people in different positions in that last game. I was playing on the right side and I’ve never played right side before. They took advantage of that, but I knew we’d be able to pull it out and we did.
“We’re very excited. We’re right up there in the district and we only have a few matches left and we really want to have that top seed.
“It’s very important for us to head into districts on a good note so winning our last few games is important to us. It means a lot to get the top seed because it means we’ll get home games. Hopefully we’ll go far. I’m very excited to finish the year with this team.”
She plans to major in nursing and is considering Elon University.
The Lions are undefeated in the BAL with a 10-0 record, and 14-3 overall.
“I really enjoy this team,” Faith sophomore setter Aubrey Pringle said. “We play together really well. We have good communication and we have good chemistry on and off the court. I played last year and this year I see that we’re really coming together more.
“The goals for this year are to definitely keep winning, go to districts and hopefully win districts and just improve overall as a team. I think we’re peaking at the right time. Districts is coming and we’re really playing well, so I think we can bring that momentum into the playoffs.
“I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season and just seeing what we can do.”
Pringle is also the center fielder for the Faith Christian softball team.
Plumstead got off to a slow start, but rallied to put up quite a fight in the third game of the match.
“We played so much better in the last game,” Plumstead senior captain Jackie Hackman said. “We just dug a hole for ourselves and it’s always hard to get out of that.
“We have a young team, about half of it is freshmen. We have a lot of new players starting on the court. We have a lot of talent, and a lot of athletic girls, but we needed to come together.
“The team improved a lot. At the beginning of the year, we had people playing out of position and we had random people going in and out just to get time on the court. But we figured out where people belonged and that’s helped us a lot.”
Hickman, the libero, hasn’t chosen a college yet, but hopes to become a pediatric surgeon.
The Panthers began the year with 11 players, six returning, and of those six, only two saw consistent playing time last season.
“Last year we did lose five seniors, which was a blow to our team, so this year was a building year,” said Makayla Hentschel, a senior captain for the Panthers. “We gained five freshman, so the numbers were the same but we didn’t have the experience. Because this has been a building year, it’s created a really strong bond for us. We’ve really persevered together. I think we can finish strong.”
A setter, Hentschel plans to study elementary education at Cedarville in Ohio.
Plumstead had three players start for the first time; freshmen Sarah Rivera and Chloe Shackelford and sophomore Sam Browne.
Those players, along with juniors Maddie Shackelford, Ava Spiaggia and Natalie Joseph will provide a good nucleus for next year.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
