North Penn captured the District 1 3A title with a 3-0 win over Neshaminy on Thursday. Photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a photo gallery. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' BOYS' VOLLEYBALL GALLERIES.
District 1 3A final
#9 NORTH PENN 3, #6 NESHAMINY 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19)
They were the ninth seed out of 16 teams in the District 1 3A Tournament, underdogs in every postseason match, and yet, there they were – laughing, celebrating, taking pictures with the district trophy they had just won in convincing fashion with a sweep of Neshaminy.
While the North Penn Knights certainly weren’t the favorites to win the district title, one person who was not surprised by their ascent to the top was their coach, Zheng Huang.
“Coming into the season - on paper, we had the strongest lineup, but we had a couple of injuries and then players were not in their places, so we did have a very rocky start,” the Knights’ third-year coach said. “Team chemistry started developing, and I’m very glad we started to get that in the postseason.”
Take away the first eight points of the opening set when the Redskins opened up a 6-2 lead, and the match and the night belonged to the Knights.
“One thing I liked was how confident they were,” Huang said. “We started the game trailing by three, four, but I knew they had it in them, so I didn’t even call a timeout when we were behind because I knew they were going to bounce back.”
And bounce back they did, rallying to win the first set. The two teams were deadlocked 22-22 when Kyle Park delivered a kill to break the tie. Then it was Quinn Clarkson slamming down a kill, and a Neshaminy net violation gave the Knights match point.
“Going into the game, we didn’t have information on them, so we only watched one game they played,” Huang said. “What I found out is – if they’re in system, they’re very comfortable, so we tried to serve and force them out of system, forced them to show their weaknesses.”
In the second set, the Knights jumped out to a 10-5 lead after a Park kill, but the Redskins battled back and made it a 13-12 game after a kill by Amati Cadenn. The Knights went on to open up an 18-14 advantage.
The Redskins made it an 18-17 game after a block by Nikoloz Mardaleishvili. A line kill by Clarkson
gave the Knights a 21-17 advantage, and they went on to win 25-21 with Daniel Arskiy delivering a kill for match point.
The third set was more of the same with the Knights turning a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 lead on a service winner by senior libero Prithvi Patel. Neshaminy battled back to pull to within one (6-5), but the Knights reeled off five straight points, a span that was capped by a block at the net for an 11-5 advantage.
The Knights stretched their lead to 19-11, going on to win 25-17 on a service winner and setting off a jubilant celebration.
“This feels great,” Huang said. “Every morning I wake up and I’m like, ‘I think we’ll be okay. I think we’ve got it.’”
On Thursday night, the Knights ‘got it,’ capturing the program’s first district crown in over two decades.
By the numbers: North Penn: Junior setter Sam Kim (18 assists, 7 digs), sophomore setter Liam Jeffers (15 assists, 3 digs), junior opposite Daniel Arskiy (11 kills), senior opposite Kyle Park (9 kills, 1 block), Senior outside Quinn Clarkson (9 kills, 3 aces, 4 digs), senior blocker Logan Krider (5 kills), junior blocker Aaron DeSanits (4 blocks), senior libero Prithvi Patel (18 digs).
North Penn coach Zheng Huang:
--Defining postseason match: “The Wissahickon game where we played the first seed. We lost to them twice in the regular season, but when we saw they were on the same side (of the district tournament bracket) with us, we were very confident because we know how they play, and I believed our team had the tools to beat them.”
--Defense wins titles: “(Senior libero) Prithvi Patel has been the keystone for our back row. He’s been amazing. He’s been with me for four years – three years varsity. I told the team – we’re going to funnel the ball through Prithvi, and he will take care of everything from there,”
North Penn senior captain Kyle Park:
--Back to the beginning: “I started playing volleyball because my brother (Jeffrey) played. He was my inspiration, and I look up to him. I got lucky – I was gifted with some athletic genes by my parents, and the upperclassmen I played with – they were the ones that led me here.”
--Key to Knights’ postseason run: “You just have to want it bad enough, I think that’s it. Our whole team – whether they play one point or the whole season, we all wanted it equally as bad. This feels great. We really wanted to do it last year. It’s great to avenge our team from last year and get it done.
“Towards the end of the regular season – all the pieces started falling together and we really started getting chemistry.”
North Penn senior captain Luca Dalla Costa:
--Laying groundwork to the title: “North Penn volleyball has a pretty strong culture of playing volleyball all year round. Sometimes (volleyball) is a seasonal thing, but at North Penn, we really do volleyball all year round.
“We have plenty of players that play for multiple clubs, and I’m pretty proud of that, so it’s no surprise that we were prepared for this postseason.”
--Key to success: “Always being focused on every single practice and always being together and always playing as a team. You can’t really play volleyball alone. I can be a middle and hit the ball down a million times, but if the pass is not there to the setter and the setter doesn’t set it to me, I really can’t play.
“We had a really strong chemistry on the team this year. We really had strong pieces everywhere. A lot of teams have one or two very strong pieces, but I feel like our team had strong pieces overall every single place, so it’s very hard for a team to put the ball down, it’s very difficult for teams to get the ball up.”
North Penn senior Prithvi Patel
--Secret to Knights’ success: “Coach Z - the first year he came in with no expectations, but every year we got better and better. Last year we made it to districts, but we came up short, but this year we brought it back. (The secret) is Coach Z. It’s the coaches and all the teamwork. We knew we could do it. It was just a matter of time.”
District 1 3A third place (for a state berth)
#5 SPRING-FORD 3, #7 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
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