REIFFTON — One lineup change and a return to the lineup propelled the Bishop Shanahan volleyball team to its first PIAA 4A semifinal since 2021, outlasting Hempfield in five sets, 3-2 on Saturday at Exeter Township High School.
The Eagles (19-5) will face District 1 title holder Spring-Ford on Tuesday at Garnet Valley High School at 6 p.m. for a spot in Saturday’s state final. Three of the four semifinalists — Shanahan, Spring-Ford and Unionville — are from District 1.
“That’s pretty good,” Shanahan coach Greg Ashman said of his feelings on making the semis. “As the season went along, we did the playoff run with band-aids and masks because everyone was injured or getting sick. There’s no way we’re going to get here. When we lost to Unionville (in the District 1 semifinals), I told my AD (Paul Meyers) that we may have an easier path. Hempfield is not an easier team to play, but we match up better against them than a Unionville again or a Garnet Valley again.”
One injured player who was welcomed back was outside hitter Mia Mascherino, who missed four games after suffering a concussion and Ashman gave his review on her first game back.
“Pretty good,” he said. “There was definitely some rust there. Most of the rust was more in her discipline and trust in her teammates on the court kinda thing. Trying to do too much. We got her calm and she was just playing as a teammate. Coming back, she felt like she had something to prove, even though we knew she had nothing to prove. Now, we have a couple of days to get her back into a comfort zone with her teammates.”
The Black Knights (18-0), who fell to Lancaster Wilson in the District 3 title game, held the early advantage in the first set. The Eagles took an 18-13 lead before Hempfield rallied after a timeout.
The set was tied, 19-19, before Hempfield six of the next seven points. Outside hitter senior Dariana Patterson knocked down a spike to capture the opening set, 25-20.
Going into the second set, Ashman made a change, putting Liz Deweiler in at libero. The change seemed to have desired effect as the Eagles kept the Black Knights and won the set when they were called for violation, allowing the Eagles to equalize, 26-24.
“It definitely just changed our mentality. We needed to work together as a team. We need all parts of our team to be coherent throughout the match,” said Detweiler. “He put girls out there who work really well together.”
“We made the switch and it just lit a fire under everyone. That was fantastic,” said Ashman.
That change really took hold in the third set as they jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead, forcing Hempfield into a time out. They upped the advantage to 20-9 after a service error. Mascherino recorded a kill to make it 24-11. Hempfield won a point to make it 24-12, but another service error gave Shanahan the set, 25-12.
“Our hitters were executing really well and our setters’ connection with them was good as well,” said Detweiler.
The fourth set was another tight affair, there were nine ties and three lead changes. The last deadlock was at 17-17 before Hempfield by winning four of the next five points to go up, 21-18. At set point, Patterson put down another set as the Black Knights won, 25-22.
A bigger concern was Detweiler, who hurt her ankle on the play and missed the fifth set.
“I’m alright,” she said. “It might be a sprain. I’ll put ice on it. I should be back for our next game, for sure.”
Then came the winner-take-all fifth set. The Eagles jumped out to an ealy 3-0 lead in the race to 15. Hempfield tied the score at 7-7 on a kill from Madison Eiser. Shanahan then reeled off six of the next eight to grab control at 13-10. Two consecutive kills by Tor Bonacci cemented the match, as Shanahan moved on with a 15-10 victory.
“We just needed to win this for the seniors because we just have four great girls and we wanted to do it for them,” said Anna Pinto.
Source: Berkshire mont
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