Two area teams will take the floor on Thursday in the second round of the District One 3A volleyball tournament.
No. 2 Pennridge 13-3 (13-1 SOL) earned a first-round bye and will host No. 7 Neshaminy. Pennridge, who won the SOL American regular season title, has played in the last two district title games. The Rams won in 2021 and fell to Neshaminy in 2022.
No. 8 Central Bucks East 14-5 (10-4 SOL) topped No. 9 Unionville Tuesday night 3-2 at CB West. Standout Matt LaBouliere rose to the occasion with 31 kills, 25 assists, nine digs, five blocks and two aces. A.J. Helveston and Reid Miller both had 10 kills, with Helveston adding nine digs and Miller racking up five blocks.
East, who won the district crown in 2019, were runners-up in this year’s SOL American division. They knocked off Pennridge 3-2 on April 27, avenging an earlier 3-1 loss to the Rams on March 30. Miller and LaBouliere each had 14 kills to lead the Patriots; LaBouliere added 10 digs and five aces.
The “W” started an eight-match win streak for East. The streak will be tested Thursday night when the Patriots travel to No. 1 Haverford.
No. 12 Council Rock North (11-10, 7-7 SOL), who has finished fourth in the last two district tournaments, peaked at the right time to make the playoffs. CR North closed the regular season winning five of its last seven, including a 3-0 sweep against SOL National co-champion Pennsbury 3-0 on May 4. But the Indians’ season ended Tuesday with a 3-1 loss at No. 5 Upper Dublin.
The Flyin’ Cardinals take on No. 4 Pennsbury on Thursday.
The top 12 teams made the district tournament. No. 13 CB South, whose .500 finish was their best season in years, was the first team out of the playoffs.
District semifinals are on May 23 and the finals are on May 25. The top three finishers advance to state play, which starts on June 6.
In the Philadelphia Catholic League, No. 5 Archbishop Wood fell 3-2 to No. 4 Archbishop Ryan on May 11 in the opening round. The Vikings, who went 2-8 in the PCL, fell 3-2 and 3-0 to Ryan in the regular season. Wood’s Colin Lynch was named to the second All-PCL team for volleyball.
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