Hempfield girls take measure of Manheim Township in L-L Section 1 volleyball tilt
The Hempfield girls volleyball team won its first big test of the Lancaster-Lebanon League season with a 3-0 triumph over Manheim Township on Thursday night.
Both teams entered the match undefeated and tied atop the Section One standings. But the Black Knights, who are the ninth-ranked team in the latest PVCA Class 4A rankings, pulled away in all three sets to win the match.
Game scores at Neffsville were 25-18, 25-16 and 25-20.
After Township got within a point late in the third set, Hempfield (6-0 L-L, 7-0 overall) slammed the door behind a pair of kills from Bryce Calabretta and highlight block from Addie Leber.
"Coach told us at the beginning of the third set that they're going to come out (fighting), so we had to play fast and hard and with a lot of energy," Leber said. "That last block, I'd been missing it the whole game. Coach told me to get out to the line and I finally got it."
Leber and Kennadi Strassmann each finished with double-digit kills for the Black Knights, and Hempfield's block helped turn away the Blue Streaks.
"They looked really solid on their scramble on defense," Township coach Emily (Buckwalter) Roth said of the Knights. "They did a good job playing with scrappiness tonight, on all sides."
The Blue Streaks (5-1, 7-1) led the first set 8-5 in Game One after a point by Emily Edelman (11 kills).
Hempfield answered with a pair of aces from Maddison Eiser. Calabretta notched a couple of kills down the stretch, and Strassmann finished off an assist from Megan Shawaryn (30 assists) for a 1-0 match lead.
In Game Two, a setter dump by Danee Engroff (24 assists) gave the Blue Streaks a 5-4 lead. Back came Hempfield on two more kills from Strassmann.
Township answered on a kill by Mackenzie Wagner to even the set at 13-13. But the Knights ultimately closed the set on an 8-1 run, with Leber recording consecutive kills down the line.
"Their blocks were more inside," said Leber, who also added 12 digs. "We read it on the outside, close to the pin so I could swing down the line. It was an open shot."
Hempfield opened Game Three on a 4-0 run. The Blue Streaks came within a point of tying the set at 11-10, 17-16 and 20-19, but couldn't get over the hump.
Sara Lehman had 16 digs for Township.
"This team has so much heart and so much passion, against this section rival especially," Roth said. "Obviously disappointed with the result, but so proud of the heart that they played with."
Both teams open the second half of section play next Tuesday. Township heads to Elizabethtown, while Hempfield goes to Ephrata.
