By Lisa Byers
May 20, 2008 11:55 pm
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Advancing to the winner’s bracket final is the ultimate goal of all teams entering the first day of play at the District 10 Boys Volleyball Tournament. Unfortunately, only two teams are able to reach that goal.
And on Tuesday, Saegertown and Cambridge Springs wound up being the successful ones.
Saegertown and Cambridge Springs will play Thursday for a spot in Friday’s District 10 championship match following wins over Meadville and Maplewood, respectively, in yesterday’s winner’s bracket semifinals.
The Panthers topped Meadville, 25-18, 25-22. Cambridge Springs rallied back to beat Maplewood, 15-25, 25-16, 25-16.
“Anytime you can get yourself to where you’re playing in the winner’s bracket final on Thursday night, you’re in a real good position,” Saegertown coach Justin Johnson said. “You’re automatically involved Friday. It’s really good to get to that position.”
Saegertown was the only team yesterday that did not suffer a loss. The Panthers opened the day with a 25-10, 25-5 win over Farrell, setting up its match with Meadville.
The Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the Bulldogs in the first game. But Meadville rallied back to tie the game at 7-7 and eventually went on top 15-12. That, however, is where things changed for MASH.
During the next sideout, Meadville senior middle hitter Ben Wolff went down with an ankle injury. Saegertown responded by going on a 6-0 run to take an 18-15 lead on its way to a 25-18 win in Game 1.
The Bulldogs did come back tough in the second game — still minus the aid of Wollf — and took a 13-10 lead. Saegertown again rallied back, though, and took the lead at 15-14 on a block by Kyle Beatty. The Panthers never relinquished that lead.
“Anytime anybody from any other team gets hurt; it’s just very unfortunate,” Saegertown coach Justin Johnson said. “It’s not a part of game I enjoy or any of the other coaches here. You want teams to be at full strength. We want to do it the right way.”
In the semifinal match between Cambridge Springs and Maplewood, the Tigers came out with a near flawless performance in the first game on its way to a 25-15 win. But that didn’t last with the Spa battling back with a similar effort in the second game to even things at a game apiece.
Cambridge Springs carried that momentum into the second game and jumped out to a 13-6 lead. Maplewood was able to cut that lead to five at 18-13 before its starting setter Nick Bancroft went down with an ankle injury of his own.
Bancroft was down for several minutes, but remained in the match. The Tigers, however, couldn’t continue their rally with the Blue Devils holding on for a 25-16 win and a spot in Thursday’s winner’s bracket final.
“We are definitely pleased to be in the position we’re in right now,” Spa coach Rick Welker said. “Against Maplewood, it was a continuation of the other night (in the Region 1 finale). They couldn’t do anything wrong and we couldn’t do anything right.
“We finally settled down and started to play a little more aggressively offensively and got a few touches on the blocks. It made a world of difference and we started turning things around.”
The same could not be said for the Tigers, who drop into the loser’s bracket with Meadville and must now win three straight to earn a spot in the championship match. Maplewood will start its quest against Cochranton, which nearly knocked off Meadville in the opening round yesterday.
The Cardinals fell to MASH, 25-23, 25-20. The first game was tied 23-23 before a Wolff block and Adam Barba kill sealed things for the Bulldogs.
Meadville will take on Conneaut Valley.
Both loser’s bracket matches will be played at 6 p.m.
“We didn’t have everyone playing (last night),” Maplewood coach Sheila Bancroft said. “And in order for us to be successful they all need to be on.”
“You have to beat them all in the end anyhow,” Bancroft added. “We’ve just taken the tougher road.”
None of the injuries suffered yesterday appeared to be serious. Wolff did return for the Bulldogs late in the second game against Saegertown. And, again, Bancroft failed to miss a beat. Cambridge Springs’ Lucas Acker also suffered an apparent injury against the Tigers, but it too, did not appear serious.
“You don’t want an injury to make the decision here,” Bancroft said. “Hopefully everyone will be back and ready to play Thursday. That is a key. I think we are all good in depth, but you want your six best players out there when it comes down to this kind of tournament.”
Notes: Aaron Bryant paced Maplewood yesterday with a total of 21 kills and five blocks. Robert Cierniakoski had 16 kills and four aces. Michael Groshner had 34 digs. Bancroft had 51 assists … For Saegertown, Ben Wetsell had 11 kills and 11 digs. Kevin Schmalzried had 24 assists. Kyle Beatty had eight kills and three blocks … Meadville coach Doug Nelson could not be reached for comment.
Lisa Byers can be reached at 724-6370, ext. 277 or by e-mail at lbyers@meadvilletribune.com.
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