Northampton tops Parkland for 3A title
Southern Lehigh takes silver in 2A championship
The Northampton senior volleyball players have been working for one goal throughout their high school playing days.
That objective of winning a District 11 Class 3A title came to fruition on Thursday night.
The Konkrete Kids avenged a loss from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference finals by knocking off top-seeded Parkland, 3-1 [25-23, 15-25, 25-21, 28-26] in a wild battle at Catasauqua High School.
The district title is Northampton’s first in program history.
Earlier in the evening, No. 7 Southern Lehigh fell to No. 1 Dock
Mennonite in the District 1-2-11 Subregional final, 3-1 [25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-14].
All four teams will advance to the PIAA championships, which begin Tuesday at various sites.
Class 3A final
Seniors Jackson Fehnel, Johnny Martinez, Alex Schoenen, Keller Repasch, Austin Sheytah and Duane Milnes put years of hard
work on the line in their final district event.
Backed by a deafening K-Kid crowd, the veteran players were all over the court against the Trojans.
Fehnel (15 kills, 19 digs) and Schoenen (16 kills, 13 digs) led the way from start to finish for Northampton (21-2).
“It’s indescribable; it’s been an insane six years with all these guys,” Schoenen said. “The difference between now and EPCs is motivation. That loss was fuel for our fire.”
Down 22-17 in the first set, Schoenen put together an impressive run from the line. The middle blocker served six-straight points to help his team take a late lead and eventually the set at 25-23. Schoenen finished the evening with three service aces.
Parkland (18-5) got back on track when Owen Rodgers, Chase Robbins and Matt Bauer got their offense going in the second set. Rodgers, in particular, caught fire to help the Trojans tie the score at one set apiece.
The third set was close throughout, all the way to 19-19. That’s when the K-Kids went on another run to take a commanding lead as Fehnel put down a big kill on set point.
The fourth set brought on some intense moments with several lead changes. Parkland built a 23-19 lead and appeared to be on its way to pushing the match to a final set, but Northampton would not fold.
The K-Kids crowd grew louder on each point, and the team fed off that energy. Staving off a set point, Northampton put the match away after several long points, as Northampton’s side of the gym erupted.
“This means everything. This was always our final goal, and this was the time to do it,” Fehnel said. “Northampton has never had a banner in boys volleyball, and we weren’t going home without it this time. We love our crowd and the energy they bring. They’re there for every sport, and the support is amazing.”
Martinez was in the middle of several huge points for the K-Kids. With an impressive vertical leap, the middle blocker put down 12 kills and added 14 digs on defense.
“We came in with a positive mindset and knew this was what we wanted,” Martinez said. “It’s great to be a part of history at Northampton. We are going to enjoy every moment of this because we’ve wanted this forever.”
Repasch (45 assists, 15 digs), Sheytah (16 digs), and Milnes (3 kills, 10 digs) all ended their senior year district tournament with solid contributions.
In the first round of states, the Konkrete Kids will take on the third-place finisher out of the District 3-6 subregional on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Parkland will meet the District 2 champion, also at a site and time to be determined.
Class 2A final
Dock Mennonite’s strongest quality can be seen from the service line.
Pioneer head coach Kirby King claimed his team’s big serve was key in the first set but went missing midway through the match on Thursday evening.
But when it reappeared in the fourth set, the Pioneers cruised past Southern Lehigh to their first-ever subregional title.
“Serving has been one of our areas of growth this year; it takes our opponents out of their system,” King said. “When we served poorly, we didn’t panic because we are used to playing up against those tough District 1 3A teams.”
Sean Gillespie and Anthony Bernardo gave the Pioneers a huge boost by combining for eight aces.
Gillespie was also a force on offense, leading all hitters with 18 kills. Bernardo turned in a solid performance with eight kills and 12 digs. Teammates Lane Bergey (41 assists) and Alex Yoo (19 digs) contributed heavily, while Cameron LaSeur and Tristan Blum combined for 13 kills.
On the other end of the court, a young Spartan squad took away valuable experience from their subregional runner-up finish.
Trey West was Southern’s biggest threat on Thursday. The junior totaled 15 kills and 15 digs. Teammate Hansen Fan added 9 kills and 6 digs, while Quincy Brunner and Reuben Smith combined for 26 assists.
Despite not having two key players available including its lone senior, Southern Lehigh (17-6) had spurts of great play against one of the state’s best teams. Next up for the Spartans is a first round state match against the District 3 runner-up.
“We didn’t use the same lineup in any of our three postseason matches,” Southern Lehigh coach Don West, Jr. said. “Rocco is the lead in the school play tonight, so we knew we wouldn’t have him. And Sam Magallanes was out, too. I really couldn’t ask for better kids. They’re all great student-athletes and display great leadership.”
Dock has a pair of losses this year, both coming to District 1 Class 3A finalists, Pennridge and Neshaminy. The Pioneers have a nice draw at the PIAA championships, as they open up with the third-place team out of District 12.