After falling in the District One finals last year to Neshaminy, Pennridge picked itself up and made a nice run in states, pushing all the way to the PIAA semifinals with wins over La Salle and District 10 champ McDowell.
This time around, however, the Explorers upended the Rams 3-0 June 6 in a state tournament opener on their home court.
Early on, the match looked like it might go the way of Pennridge. Kills posted by freshman Logan Jalosinski, junior Aaron Ladd and sophomore Bryce Ammon, together with three more by junior Jude Rotondo staked the Rams to a 10-5 edge in game one.
With the momentum swinging back the other way, La Salle sophomore Chris McKnight followed an ace up with a kill, giving the Explorers their first lead, 14-13.
“La Salle is a big-swinging, big-blocking team and when they get those big plays, we get a little shaken and we push back,” explained Pennridge senior libero Ty Porter. “We were trying to match their intensity but today, it just didn’t come together for us.”
Oh sure, the Rams tied the game a few more times but by now, were starting to struggle getting the ball past front-line blockers Owen Huy and Colin Broderick.
A block at the net by those two seniors, a kill by Huy and an ace that just dripped over the net by McKnight earned La Salle a 25-21 triumph in the opening set.
“They did a good job blocking; give them credit,” said Pennridge coach Dave Childs. “They’re a big team. They got some size and they put the ball down when they had to.”
District One finalists in 10 of the last 14 campaigns on the court, it seemed like nothing was going the way of the Rams. With graduation looming later the same day, the Pennridge Athletic Department had asked the PIAA to switch game day.
Instead, tournament directors forced the sides to meet at 11 a.m.
What’s more, the Rams were missing their setter in junior Evan Jalosinski, out with the flu for this match. That forced Ammon, normally a middle hitter, into the role for the state opener.
“It’s tough,” said Rotondo. “We needed a setter and Bryce stepped up. He was up to the task and I thought he played great. Without him, we’re not even here today.”
Pennridge took the court this season without the services of four starters from last year’s team including all-state setter Riley Kodidek (Arcadia) and libero Alex Derk (Wilkes).
Childs shuffled this year’s lineup to feature outside hitters Logan Jalosinski, senior Thomas McKinney along with Rotondo and Ammon, with Ladd in the middle.
“The chemistry was great this year,” said Rotondo. “We were all super close to each other and that’s going to carry on next year.”
Forced to fight on in states without their setter, the Rams fell behind 15-5 in game two, eventually falling, 25-14.
In game three, Pennridge regained its spark with Rotondo and Jalosinski scoring some early kills together with a block by Ladd. Rotondo netted three kills early in the last game then added an ace, staking the Rams to an early 7-3 lead.
While La Salle seniors Brendan O’Connor and Dan Van Thuyne drew the Explorers closer at 13-11, Rotondo scored a kill of his own with Ladd chiming in with an ace to put Pennridge up 15-11.
From there however, La Salle assembled a 12-2 scoring run, capped off by a pair of blocks by Broderick, putting the Explorers up, 23-17.
While a McKinney kill and a hitting error by the Explorers drew the Rams within a point, the Rams lost the match point when they were called for a net violation.
In addition to McKinney and Porter, Pennridge waves goodbye to middle hitter Gavin Stayer and Charlie Clontz along with opposite Owen Dewitt.
“We’re losing a great group of seniors but we have guys willing to step up,” said Rotondo. “We’ll still be able to continue that chemistry since we had so many underclassmen getting time this year.”
The Rams finish this season at 15-5 with District One tournament wins over Neshaminy and William Tennent. The win over Neshaminy was a bit of revenge for Pennridge, which lost to Neshaminy in the District One title tilt last year.
“It felt good to beat them; we played them at home and we got a good crowd,” explained Rotondo. “A bit of redemption so it was nice.
“I’m sure that’s what La Salle is feeling now. We knocked them out (of states) last year.”
For the match, Rotondo led Pennridge with 20 kills and he led the team for the season in that category. McKinney added seven kills, Ammon chipped in with 32 assists and Porter had five digs.
For La Salle, Huy led the way to victory with 21 kills and seven blocks. Broderick added seven kills and seven blocks. Van Thuyne and junior Matt McNesby combined for 42 assists. Junior Sam Johnsson chipped in with 14 digs and three aces.
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