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York Dispatch Staff Report

Four York-Adams League athletes have been named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class AA All-State Team.

Three Delone Catholic players made the team. They were joined by Eastern York senior Alexis Rhein, a 5-foot, 11-inch outside hitter.

The Delone players who made the team were: Hannah Lawrence, a 5-4 junior libero; Allie Mondorff, a 5-9 senior setter; and Cambria Wierman, a 5-7 junior outside hitter.

Those three players helped the Squirettes capture the York-Adams League Division III, York-Adams League Tournament and District 3-AA championships. Delone finished second in the PIAA Class AA state playoffs. The loss in the state finals was Delone’s only setback of the season.

A total of 45 players made the AA all-state team.

York Dispatch Staff Report

Three York-Adams League athletes have been named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class AAA All-State Team.

Susquehannock’s Leah Deter, a 5-foot, 8-inch senior, was named as an opposite.

Dover’s Bayleigh Hoffman, a 5-7 junior, was selected at setter/opposite.

And Central York’s Hadley Swartz, a 5-8 senior, was picked as an outside hitter.

A total of 50 AAA players were honored.

The Class AA and Class A teams are expected to be released at a later date.

By RYAN VANDERSLOOT 854-1575 x455 / @YAIAAscores

LINGLESTOWN – It felt a little weird for Eastern York girls’ volleyball standout Lexi Rhein during Sunday’s District 3 East-West Showcase at Central Dauphin High School.

There was Rhein, who already has signed her national letter of intent to play the sport at the University of Charleston, on one side of the court with her York-Adams and Mid-Penn teammates. On the other side were three of her teammates from her old club team — Hempfield’s Morgan Lowe, Daniel Boone’s Liama Goodrich and Berks Catholic’s Alaina Pisczek — playing for the Berks/Lancaster-Lebanon squad.

As unusual as that felt, however, Rhein fit in quite well with her teammates for a day, helping the York-Adams/Mid-Penn side earn a 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-21 victory.

“It was really fun,” Rhein said. “It was really funny because three of the girls on the other team where on my Synergy team last year. So it was basically like playing against some of my teammates, which was pretty cool. It was a lot more fun than I anticipated.”

Rhein seemed to fit in well with her other seven teammates — Central York’s Hadley Swartz, Susquehannock’s Caroline Savin, Delone Catholic’s Allie Mondorff, Trinity’s Hannah Fry, Carlisle’s Morgan Herold, Greencastle’s Nakita Gearhart and Chambersburg’s Liashira Rivera. Rhein’s team played nearly flawless defense while taking advantage of having a pair of 6-footers in Savin and Fry at the net.

“It was both fun and challenging to get a new group together,” Rhein said. “Especially with middles and setting and trying to get that connection going strong. But having (Savin and Fry) was awesome.”

Rhein also recalled the unusual circumstances surrounding her team’s victory over York Suburban in the first round of the District 3-AA playoffs. The Trojans swept her Knights during the regular season, so there wasn’t a lot of optimism that the third time would be much different. Then there was the fact that Eastern’s homecoming was scheduled the same night as the contest, which made things a little more frantic.

“Beating Suburban … which we were clearly not supposed to have won,” she said. “They beat us twice, but we beat them and had to go to homecoming right after. That was so fun. I also think that the fact that we had something afterwards was kind of pushing us.”

Savin, who played on several championship teams with the Warriors, had fun playing with her new teammates, but did acknowledge it would be tough to never put on Susquehannock’s red-and-white jersey again.

“I definitely had a lot of fun,” Savin said. “It was fun playing with and against all the various players from the other teams. But it was the last time playing in this jersey, so it was a little bittersweet.”

Playing with Swartz was a nice change for Savin, who normally only saw Swartz on the other side of the net during the past season.

“We played against (her team) so many times that it was good to finally be able to play with them,” she said.

Savin also enjoyed playing side-by-side with Fry, a tandem that caused many shots to be re-directed or blocked during the match.

“We were definitely stacked,” said Savin, who has narrowed her college choices down to Lebanon Valley, West Chester, Chestnut Hill and McDaniel.

Swartz, on the other hand, hasn’t really given much thought about her college preferences yet. She wanted to wait for the season to conclude before spending some serious time on the subject over the holidays.

Wherever Swartz plays in college will get a fierce competitor with a good all-around game. Swartz, in fact, was the only player on her side that was able to regularly find a way to get the ball to floor against another impressive defensive squad.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “And to see a bunch of girls that are just as competitive as you are come together and just play the game that we love to play — it was awesome.”

Swartz pointed to her team’s come-from-behind victory over Chambersburg in the first round of the District 3-AAA playoffs as a highlight. The Panthers were a mere point away from falling to Rivera’s side before going on a remarkable comeback.

“We had a huge deficit, and to end up coming back and winning that game was so much fun,” she said.

– Reach Ryan Vandersloot at sports@yorkdispatch.com.

York Dispatch Staff Report

Delone Catholic is just win away from its first-ever PIAA girls’ volleyball championship.

The Squirettes advanced to the state Class AA finals on Tuesday night with a 25-22, 25-14, 17-25, 19-25, 15-13 victory over District 1-AA champion Pope John Paul II at Garden Spot High School in Lancaster County.

The District 3-AA champions now advance to take on District 10-AA champion Fort LeBoeuf for the state title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Central York High School. Delone will have a significant travel advantage in that matchup. Delone is approximately 25 miles from Central York, while Fort LeBoeuf, located near Erie, must travel about 275 miles.

Fort LeBoeuf also won its semifinal match in five games on Tuesday over District 7-AA champion Mars, 19-25, 25-23, 12-25, 25-13, 15-3.

In the most recent Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class AA state poll, Pope John Paul II was ranked No. 1, followed by Fort LeBoeuf, Delone Catholic and Mars.

Delone has become quite proficient at winning five-game matches recently. In the York-Adams League Tournament, Delone won both the semifinal and final matches in five games. They repeated that feat in the District 3-AA championship match.

On Saturday, the Squirettes will attempt to become the first York-Adams League team to win a state girls’ volleyball championship since Susquehannock took the AAA title in 1999.

Delone advanced to the AA state finals in 2001, but lost to Merion Mercy.

York Dispatch Staff Report

The Delone Catholic girls’ volleyball team cruised into the PIAA Class AA state quarterfinals on Thursday night with a 3-0 victory over Masterman at Wilson High School.

The game scores were 25-13-25-19, 25-12.

The District 3-AA champion Squirettes will now face District 2-AA champion Holy Redeemer at noon Saturday at Muhlenberg High School. Holy Redeemer advanced with a win over District 4 champion Wellsboro on Wednesday.

In the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll, Delone was ranked No. 3 in the state in Class AA, while Holy Redeemer was No. 9.

Delone, the York-Adams League Tournament champion, improved to 22-0.

On Thursday, Delone was paced by senior setter-outside hitter Allie Mondorff, who finished with nine kills and a team-high 20 assists. Meghan Stambaugh (16 assists) and Cambria Wierman (13 kills) also excelled for Delone.

Masterman, the District 12 runner-up, saw its season come to a close.

York Dispatch Staff Report

Seven York-Adams League athletes have been named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association All-District 3 Class AAA All-Star Girls’ Volleyball Team.

Three local players were selected to the first team: Susquehannock opposite Leah Deter, a 5-8 senior; Dover setter/outside hitter Bayleigh Hoffman, a 5-7 junior; and Central York outside hitter Hadley Swartz, a 5-8 senior.

Three York-Adams players were also named to the second team: Central York setter Erin Dobbeck, a 5-8 junior; Central York middle hitter Sidney Gallagher, a 5-10 senior; and Susquehannock setter Rachel Moltz, a 5-7 senior.

South Western’s Erin Harman, a 5-7 junior, was a third-team pick at outside hitter.

Deter and Moltz helped Susquehannock win the York-Adams League Division I title, while Swartz, Dobbeck and Gallagher powered Central York to a second-place finish in Division I. South Western, with Harman leading the way, took third in Division I and finished second in the York-Adams League Tournament.

Following is the complete list of all-stars:

FIRST TEAM

Leah Deter, senior, 5-8, opposite, Susquehannock.

Kelly Friers, junior, junior, 6-2, setter, Cumberland Valley.

Bayleigh Hoffman, junior, 5-7, setter/outside hitter, Dover.

Morgan Lowe, senior, 6-0, outside hitter, Hempfield.

Karleigh Lutz, junior, 5-10, outside hitter, Cumberland Valley.

Brittany McMullen, senior, 6-2, middle hitter, Hempfield.

Shannon Restrepo, sophomore, 5-11, setter, Exeter.

Hadley Swartz, senior, 5-8, outside hitter, Central York.

Sarah Wesley, sophomore, 5-10, middle hitter, Exeter.

Hannah Williams, senior, 5-4, libero, Garden Spot.

SECOND TEAM

Erin Dobbeck, junior, 5-8, setter, Central York.

Danielle Faust, sophomore, 5-11, outside hitter, Exeter.

Sidney Gallagher, senior, 5-10, middle hitter, Central York.

Maddy George, junior, 5-10, middle hitter, Garden Spot.

Jessie Greenslade, senior, 6-0, outside hitter, Penn Manor.

Rachel Moltz, senior, 5-7, setter, Susquehannock.

Maggie O’Hearn, senior, 5-7, setter, Hempfield.

Lizzy Schultz, sophomore, 5-10, outside hitter, Exeter.

Elizabeth Scott, sophomore, 5-11, outside hitter, Cumberland Valley.

Emily Zellers, senior, 5-0, libero, Hempfield.

THIRD TEAM

Kristen Boyer, senior, 5-10, outside hitter, Cocalico.

Emily Buckwalter, senior, 5-9, outside hitter, Warwick.

Becca Flickinger, junior, 5-6, libero, Gettysburg.

Liama Goodrich, senior, 5-9, outside hitter, Daniel Boone.

Erin Harman, junior, 5-7, outside hitter, South Western.

Anna Wenger, junior, 6-0, outside hitter, Hempfield.

Jada Pickett, junior, 5-8, outside hitter, Chambersburg.

Liashira Rivera, senior, 5-9, middle hitter, Chambersburg.

Jessie Wallace, junior, 6-0, middle hitter, Wilson.

Morgan Herold, senior, 5-7, libero, Carlisle.

By RYAN VANDERSLOOT 854-1575 x455 / @YAIAAscores

DALLASTOWN — The Central York girls’ volleyball team had Exeter in a very unfamiliar spot Thursday night.

An Eagles’ side that had dropped just four games during an 18-0 campaign was trailing 2-0 in a District 3-AAA semifinal match at Dallastown High School.

Perhaps it was their youth (Exeter’s roster is comprised mostly of sophomores) or maybe it was just not knowing any better, but the Berks County champions showed some remarkable toughness. Coach Jason Grove’s team rallied from a 16-15 hole in Game 3 by winning 10 of the final 11 points and the Eagles continued their momentum to pull out a 19-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-19, 15-6 triumph.

Despite the setback, the Panthers can still extend their season by winning the District 3-AAA third-place match against Hempfield, who was swept by Cumberland Valley (25-21, 25-20, 29-27) in the other semifinal. The consolation contest is set for 5 p.m. Saturday at Dallastown. The winner of that match will earn the third-and-final state berth into next week’s PIAA Class AAA Tournament.

Grove couldn’t explain precisely how his team maintained its composure, but did offer a few ideas.

“Maybe we’re young and dumb,” Grove said. “Or maybe we’re not smart enough to realize the ramifications of being down to a team that good. Being down 2-0 to a team as talented as Central York is definitely not a spot you want to find yourself in.”

Central coach Nate Ocasio was disappointed that his team had a chance to sweep the Eagles in Game 3, but allowed that game to slip away.

“Against a team like that … you have to capitalize,” he said. “You can’t let a team build momentum and build confidence.”

Exeter, which is ranked No. 5 in the state in AAA in the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll, came out of the gate like a team with a perfect record. The Eagles raced out to a 10-2 lead in Game 1 before the Panthers swiftly turned the momentum behind the serving of Naya Cheatem and the hitting of Hadley Swartz.

Swartz slammed down one of her game-high 23 kills to get the ball back to Cheatem at the service line. Cheatem followed with seven-straight points that tied up the contest at 10-all before the York-Adams Division II runners-up finished off by claiming Game 1 in style.

“She’s a really good server and they were in a rotation that they struggled in,” Ocasio said.

The Eagles fell behind 7-1 early in Game 2 but rallied late to force a 22-all deadlock. The Panthers blew one shot at a game point before Swartz capitalized on their second chance at the service line.

Game 3 was back-and-forth until Grove’s side rallied from a 16-15 deficit by winning the next five points. After Central’s Allison Rife got a kill to make it 20-17, the Berks County school scored the final five points to stay alive.

From that point on, the momentum was solidly behind the Eagles, who earned the Berks League its first Class AAA finalist ever.

“It’s just like a perfect storm,” Grove said of Thursday’s comeback as well as the makeup of his team in general. “We have a very strong sophomore class. They’re big and strong and they love volleyball and then we have two upperclassmen that are team leaders and they really work well together.”

Ocasio was impressed with how the youthful Eagles responded after having their backs up firmly against the wall.

“They are a young team, which means that they feed a lot off of high energy and confidence,” he said. “And that’s kind of what started happening in Game 3.”

Swartz finished with 16 digs and two aces on the night while Cheatem tallied six aces and five blocks. Setter Erin Dobbeck dished out 42 assists, while Andrea Quartey recorded 10 kills and three blocks.

Exeter’s Sara Wesley led a balanced Eagle attack with 12 kills to go with 11 digs, four blocks and four aces. Setter Shannon Restrepo dished out 44 assists and recorded 10 digs, while Gabbie Stick led her team with 15 kills.

Central’s next contest won’t be easy. Hempfield was ranked No. 2 in the state in AAA by the PVCA before getting upset by unranked Cumberland Valley.

OTHER GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

DELONE MOVES TO DISTRICT 3 TITLE MATCH: At Wilson, the Squirettes stormed into the District 3-AA girls’ volleyball championship match with a 25-9, 25-16, 25-15 semifinal victory over Palmyra.

Cambria Wierman had nine kills to pace Delone.

The top-seeded Squirettes improved to 20-0, while fourth-seeded Palmyra finished 18-3.

Delone will now take on sixth-seeded Berks Catholic (14-1) for the championship at 5 p.m. Saturday at Dallastown High School.

Berks Catholic beat Brandywine Heights in the other semifinal, 26-24, 27-25, 25-22.

Seventh-seeded Brandywine Heights finished at 13-3.

YORK HIGH LOSES TO McCASKEY: At Lancaster, the Bearcats dropped the non-league match, 26-24, 25-18, 25-19.

Jasmine Berry led the visitors with six kills, four digs and three aces.

McCaskey won the JV match 2-0.

– Reach Ryan Vandersloot at sports@yorkdispatch.com.