By Ara Grigorian
Garden Spot girls' volleyball coach Dennis Werner is watching his team gain some valuable experience as the Spartans head into the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, which began on Monday
(Oct. 26).
Werner and the Spartans played Conestoga Valley in a tiebreaker match to decide the Section Two crown on Friday, October 23 at the Centerville Middle School gymnasium.
The two teams had finished the Lancaster-Lebanon League regular season with 9-1 records and had split the two head-to-head matches. Conestoga Valley won the first meeting between the two schools by a 3-1 score. Garden Spot returned the favor in their second match of the regular season.
But in the tiebreaker, match point went to Conestoga Valley. The Lady Bucks prevailed 3-0 as they eked out victories by scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23. Conestoga Valley thus reclaimed the Section Two title from the defending champion Spartans.
"They're a senior-dominated team," Werner said of CV. "We're young even though the season isn't. But most of our girls haven't been in pressure situations or playoffs."
Nevertheless, Werner likes his team's chances after the Spartans came away with an impressive performance in Saturday's tournament.
"We were at the Pottsville Powerade Classic one of the top volleyball tournaments in the state," Werner explained. "Our pool was very strong and we finished second and wound up making the playoffs. They (Conestoga Valley) didn't. So, we did better than they did."
As for the tiebreaker match, Werner was asked on his take was it a case of the team that made the fewer errors when two closely-matched teams clash?
"That's always part of it," replied the Spartan coach. "You have two teams that are pretty even in serving and passing skills. They served and passed better than we did. All the games were pretty close even though we didn't play very well."
On Monday, the Spartans will be pitted against Section One rival Warwick in the opening match of the quarterfinals at Conestoga Valley. The Lady Bucks will play Manheim Township in the nightcap.
Also on Monday, Lancaster Mennonite will be the site for quarterfinal matches between Ephrata and the home team as well as Hempfield and Manheim Central. The semis and finals will shift to Manheim Township later in the week.
Werner was asked how he will approach the opening round of the
playoffs.
"Just go after Warwick," he said. "We've played them in the league playoffs a lot over the past three or four years. We're the youngest team in the league in the playoffs we start only one senior. The Warriors have all their starters back."
But again, there's that optimism by a coach that has always stood behind his team.
"I really liked how we played in this weekend's tournament and if we carry that into Monday, we'll be in good shape," Werner remarked. "Of course, if we go out and play like we did on Friday against CV, we're in trouble.
"We have the skill; we have the talent," he continued. "It's just a matter of composure. The more playoff experience the girls get, the better we'll be."
The Spartans wound down the regular season with a 3-0 win over Section Two rival Lebanon on Tuesday. The Spartans chopped down the Cedars 25-8, 25-12 and 25-6.
Sophomore Lauren Horst helped the cause by serving up five aces on the night. Horst and junior teammate Julia O'Brien led the squad with seven kills each. O'Brien and fellow junior Steph Doherty each notched two blocks.
CROSS COUNTRY
Jesse Mancuso legged out a 17:01 finish in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Cross Country Championship at Ephrata Middle School on Tuesday. The Spartan senior finished fifth as Cedar Crest's Jon Jackson earned the win in 16:44.
Mancuso was part of a leading pack that included McCaskey's Quichon Walker (16:50), Jackson's teammate Alex Galli (16:56), Hempfield junior Matt Groff (16:59) and sixth-place finisher Keith Mast (17:04) of Lancaster Mennonite. Elco's Kyle Kessler wasn't far behind, finishing seventh at 17:05 while Elizabethtown's Keith Kreider (17:08) took eighth.
The Spartan boys finished 13th as a team with 302 points only four points behind Cocalico.
Junior Emily Martin represented the Spartans as one of the top finishers in the girls' race. She finished fifth with a time of 20:08.
Elco senior Kayleigh Perry defended her title by winning for the league championship race for a second year in a row. Perry ran at an 18:52 clip. Warwick's Alli Mannon was 14 seconds behind, taking third in 19:06.
Garden Spot sophomore Tasha Becker finished 30th with a time of 21:06.
FOOTBALL
On a slippery field at New Holland, the Spartans suffered a 34-0 loss at the hands of Cocalico in Section Two football action.
The Eagles improved to 3-2 in section play (6-2 overall) while the young Spartan squad was left winless at 0-5, 0-8.
The Eagles scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and tacked on another score in the second quarter, taking a 21-0 halftime lead.
Several drives stalled for the Spartans, who recorded a total of seven first downs on the night. But senior Jarred Fox picked up some of the slack, gaining 80 yards in the fourth quarter and leading a Spartan running game that put up 113 yards on the ground.
Cocalico was led by running back Austin Hartman, who ran the ball for 181 yards on 21 carries. He scored on a 29-yard run after the Eagles had gained great field possession following a Spartan punt out of the end zone in the first quarter.
Quarterback Ryan Schweitzer completed four of eight pass attempts for 35 yards for Cocalico, including a nine-yard toss to Kyle Risell. Schweitzer scored the Eagles' first TD of the game on a six-yard keeper.
The Spartans will visit Solanco next week in search of their first win. The Mules edged Ephrata 20-10.
The Eagles will host Conestoga Valley in a key Section Two match-up.
