Jones helps D-West earn payback against Carroll
CHELTENHAM >> Audrey Jones saw a slew of familiar faces as she walked into the gym at Bishop McDevitt High Tuesday.
There was Paige Monastero, Meaghan McCann and Abby Wright, just to name a few. A year ago they were teammates at Archbishop Carroll. After Jones transferred to Downingtown West for her senior year they were opponents for the first time on the high school level.
“It was definitely strange walking into the gym and seeing all of them,” said Jones, who will play volleyball at Connecticut next year. “We play together (at East Coast Power) so we’re good friends, too. The only time we get to go against each other is in practice so it was definitely a little strange, but it was a good experience.”
That wasn’t the only surreal part of the Whippets’ 3-1 victory over the Patriots in the opening round of the PIAA Class 3A volleyball playoffs, the first state playoff victory in program history.
Two years ago, the same teams met on the same floor and it wasn’t pretty. The Patriots won that match rather easily to advance to the quarterfinal round of the state tournament.
“I think we were out of here in
40 minutes,” Downingtown West coach Dave Parrish said.
Downingtown’s West’s 25-21, 1525, 25-19, 25-20 victory was the complete opposite of the 25-5, 25-18, 2511 whipping the Patriots laid on the Whippets two years ago. And yes, revenge was on the Whippets’ minds.
“We wanted to show that we were better than that,” said senior outside hitter Aly Reardon, who will play her college ball at Division III power Juniata.
Downingtown West thus earned a quarterfinal date Saturday with District 1 champ Bishop Shanahan at a site and time to be determined. The Eagles defeated Hempfield, the No. 3 team out of District 3, 3-1. The Whippets (16-7) dropped a 3-0 decision to Shanahan earlier in the season.
“We’re very familiar with them,” Parrish said.
The play of Reardon (20 kills, five digs, three aces), Hailey Lewis (12 kills, nine aces) and Jones (10 kills) was just what the Whippets needed to make history.
The Patriots, though, did not make it easy. With setter Melanie Coates (26 assists, seven kills, seven digs), Monastero (19 kills, 11 digs), McCann (14 digs), Wright (11 digs) and Kerry Dillon (four blocks) setting the tone, Carroll dominated the second set. Coates took advantage of some mismatches to record four of her kills in that set.
“We paid a lot more attention to her because she’s a player who does everything well,” Parrish said. “A good setter like that is going to take advantage of those situations and she did.”
Three straight aces from Lewis, however, helped swing the momentum back in Downingtown West’s favor in the third set. Her serving enabled the Whippets to open up a 7-1 lead. The Patriots fought back and got within 21-19, but eventually a kill by Reardon and a block by Lewis foiled that comeback bid. The third set was a dogfight until a kill by senior Paige Polsin snapped a nine-all deadlock and ignited a 6-0 run by the Whippets. Carroll got within two points twice, but that’s as close as the Patriots would get.
“Meaghan (McCann) was a little dazed and that didn’t help,” Carroll coach Brian McCann said. “We didn’t control the ball the way we usually do. We didn’t pass, serve or play defense the way we usually do, either. But they’re a good team. They have two really good hitters in Aly and Audrey. It was a little strange to see Audrey on the other side, but she did a good job tonight.”