Upper Dublin girls’ volleyball made history by earning a trip to the PIAA 4A State Tournament. (File photo courtesy of Jon Sklut. To view complete photo galleries, click on the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f708101185)
District 1 4A Playback
#6 UPPER DUBLIN 3, #5 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 2 (25-7, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 15-6)
The Flying Cardinals put their names in the program record books – they are believed to be the first Upper Dublin girls’ volleyball team in program history to advance to the state tournament.
It took a grueling three-set road win over the fifth-seeded Cougars to earn the fifth and final state district berth.
The Cards won the first two sets and appeared to be well on their way to the win, but the host Cougars had other ideas, winning the next two sets and setting the stage for a winner-take-all fifth set.
Brooke Kinsley also put her name in the record books, finishing with 13 kills and surpassing the 680-kill career mark.
Madison Small had a huge night at the net, finishing with a team-high 26 kills. Isabelle Driehuis added 15 kills. Combined with Kinsley’s 13 kills, the trio combined for 54 kills.
Defensively, Alisa Zeng’s 20 digs led the way while Kinsley added 13 digs and Caroline Stoffel had 11. Setter Kaitlyn Small handed out 56 assists.
By the numbers: Upper Dublin: Alisa Zeng (2 aces, 1 assist, 20 digs), Brooke Kinsley (13 kills, 1 assist, 13 digs, 1 block), Caroline Stoffel (2 aces, 1 assist, 11 digs), Ellie Cheifetz (3 aces, 2 digs), Isabelle Driehuis (15 kills, 4 digs), Janis Andrulonis (6 kills, 1 assist), Kaitlyn Small (2 kills, 56 assists, 1 dig), Madeline Barry (3 kills), Madison Small (26 kills, 2 aces, 1 assist, 7 digs)
Upper Dublin coach Paul Choi: “Brooke Kinsley broke the school record for kills during this match, having over 680 career kills. Madison Small was hot all night and found ways to get kills from everywhere on the court. Isabelle Driehuis contributed to the offensive load going up against huge blockers from (Downingtown) East. Alisa Zeng was all over defensively, Ellie (Cheifetz) had great service runs, Caroline (Stoffel) has been a game changer in the playoffs, Janis (Andrulonis) and (Madeline) Barry got very timely kills, and Kaitlyn (Small) did a terrific job spreading the offense.
“Huge props to the team for staying resilient and fighting back after losing the third and fourth sets. We could have easily broken down, but they stayed mentally tough, kept the energy high and came alive again in the fifth.
“I am very proud of how far this program has come and to see all the hard work paying off - especially since we missed playoffs in 2021 and 2022, (had a) first round exit in 2023, lost in the first round of playbacks in 2024, to winning playbacks to secure that 5th spot 2025.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will travel to District 1 champion Spring-Ford to face the undefeated Rams in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 4A State Tournament.
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