Volleyball teams are officially in the second half of their schedule. The Suburban One League – and District One – are wide open as there were no unbeaten teams entering spring break.
Tuesday night was a busy one as all five area teams with playoff hopes were in action. No. 2 Pennridge (8-1, 8-0 SOL) beat No. 5 Upper Dublin 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 26-24) in what could be a deep playoff preview. All eight sets these teams have been played this year have been decided by two or three points.
Jude Rotondo and Bryce Ammon had 10 kills each. Thomas McKinney added nine. The win elevated Pennridge to the top of the District power rankings.
The Rams topped the Cardinals 3-2 on Opening Night in five sets all decided by two points. Rotondo’s 18 kills paced the Rams in the opener. Rotondo had the same 18 kills, on a .424 hitting percentage, in Pennridge’s prior win: a 3-0 sweep of neighboring Souderton.
Pennridge, who has dropped just one set in its current six-match win streak, still has a chance to run the table. The first-place team in the SOL American and last year’s co-champions, the Rams’ lone loss was to District 11 power Parkland. Pennridge has been a mainstay in the PIAA tournament nearly every year since 2009, and they are on track to earn yet another states’ berth.
CB East, who fell to Upper Dublin 3-0 on Monday, quickly recovered and beat North Penn on Tuesday 3-0. Matt LaBouliere had 14 kills and 10 assists. Defensively, Aiden Leichter paced East with 17 digs.
East (6-4, 6-3 SOL) earned bragging rights in last Thursday’s 3-0 rivalry win over CB West, which also briefly gave the Patriots a nine-set winning streak.
East is looking to bounce back after two uncharacteristically sub-.500 seasons. As recently as 2019, East was the District One and SOL American champion. The Patriots are led by opposite LaBouliere, one of just two Suburban One PVCA All-District players last year to return.
When a rivalry game features two teams coming off of a loss 24 hours before, it is bound to be a battle royal. And Tuesday night’s match was, with CB South (5-4, 5-3 SOL) coming out on top over CB West (4-8, 2-6 SOL) 3-2 (16-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9). Ben Grove killed 23 for the Titans, while Will Tantum and Josh Conley combined for 31 digs. For West, Cooper Tyksinski and Oliver Hu each killed eight.
The resurgent Titans will secure their best season in a decade with their next win.
CR North (5-6, 3-4 SOL) remains in the mix for a playoff spot. The Indians faced Abington Tuesday, helping their postseason cause with a 3-2 win.
Eight days earlier, the Indians picked up a signature win in handing William Tennent its first SOL loss, 3-1. North has won five of its last eight matches, after a sluggish start to the year.
The top 12 teams in the 23-school 3A class go to districts. Three teams advance to states.
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