Intel Coverage of William Tennent!

Posted: Monday, March 30, 2015 10:15 pm | Updated: 11:14 pm, Mon Mar 30, 2015.

By Drew Markol Staff writer

WARMINSTER — Solid steps were taken by both William Tennent and Archbishop Wood in boys volleyball play Monday.

For the Panthers, their 3-0 non-league victory over the neighboring Vikings helped them right things after dropping a match to improving Quakertown last Friday.

"We kind of got a wake-up call against Quakertown and we had to bounce back," Tennent senior Tom Del Conte said. "Wood is getting better and we had to come out here tonight and play well if we wanted to win."

For the Vikings, who are in just their second season with a varsity program, they gave an established program like the Panthers a good go and were not intimidated.

"Last year we played some matches where we had a hard time getting to 10," Wood coach Brendan Ledwith said. "These guys are working hard and they keep after it. Tennent is very good and I was happy to see us keep fighting."

The Panthers won by scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-22.

"This is a good neighborhood rivalry that we like to play," Creighton said. "Wood is getting better and better. They're only in their second season, but they do a lot of good things."

Del Conte, who had seven kills and two blocks, including the match-clinching block in the third game, and his teammates knew they had to be ready for the Vikings.

"A lot of our guys play club with their guys and we knew they would come out and play well," Del Conte said. "It's always fun when you play against Wood. For a program that's just really getting started they're pretty good."

The best game was the second as the host Vikings led most of the way before Tennent rallied.

Wood had an 18-17 advantage only to see the Panthers go on an 8-2 run to seize the game.

A kill from Del Conte made it 23-20 and helped offset a kill from Wood senior standout John Waltrich (13 kills, nine blocks) on the previous point.

The third and final game was also tight with the Vikings leading in the middle portion only to see the Panthers battle back yet again.

A kill by junior Jake Milnazik (nine kills, nine digs, four aces) gave the Panthers the lead at 21-20.

"I told the team after the match that they should be proud of the way they played," Ledwith said. "This one was filled with energy and passion on both sides. The crowd was into it and we need to play these kind of matches to push our program to the next level."

Notes: William Tennent plays at Neshaminy Tuesday (3:30 p.m.) and hosts Christopher Dock on Wednesday (7 p.m.). ... "We're going back-to-back-to-back and we'll need to be ready," Creighton said. ... The Vikings host Cardinal O'Hara on Wednesday (3 p.m.) in a Philadelphia Catholic League match. ... Will Towle finished with eight kills for the Panthers and Rob Russell had six kills and three blocks for the Vikings.