BOYS VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOKCourier Boys volleyball: SOL races close to being decided
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Posted: Sunday, April 26, 2015 11:00 pm | Updated: 7:58 am, Mon Apr 27, 2015.
With the regular season starting to wind down, it’s time to take a look at where things stand in the various conferences.
In the Suburban One League Continental Conference, it’s been all Pennridge from the jump.
The Rams, unbeaten at 12-0, are quickly closing in on the conference crown.
(Note: The SOL Continental has nine teams, meaning each team plays 16 conference games. The SOL National Conference has only seven teams, so those teams play only 12 conference games. It’s a little confusing, I know, but that’s the setup).
OK, back to Pennridge. The Rams are being chased by both North Penn (8-2 SOL Continental) and Quakertown (8-3), but those teams are running out of time.
Pennridge has already beaten the Panthers twice, and the Knights once, meaning unless the Rams go into a serious tailspin (extremely, extremely unlikely) in their last four matches, the conference crown will go to them.
So far, it’s been a similar story in the SOL National, as William Tennent has remained perfect (9-0 in conference play), and the teams chasing the Panthers, Pennsbury (6-2 conference play) and Council Rock North (5-2), have only a handful of matches left to play.
On top of that, Tennent has already beaten the Indians twice (both by 3-2 scores) and the Falcons once (also by a 3-2 score). The Panthers play Pennsbury in their season finale May 5.
By then, though, Tennent will likely have sewn things up.
Things are also looking good for Archbishop Wood in the Philadelphia Catholic League.
The Vikings sit atop the league at 8-0 (teams play 12 PCL matches) and are being chased by defending PCL champ La Salle (7-1 PCL) and Lansdale Catholic (6-2).
The make-or-break week for Wood comes next week, when the Vikings host the Explorers May 5 and then travel to Lansdale two days later to face the Crusaders.
Panthers in rankings?
Maybe it’ll be in them today when the new list is announced. Or maybe it won’t.
Regardless, with the season William Tennent is putting together, the Panthers should be in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association top 10 teams.
In last week’s rankings, Council Rock North, a very good team, was ranked seventh in the state, and Tennent was nowhere to be found.
Then, last Monday night, the Panthers beat the Indians 3-2 (in a great match) for the second time this season.
Beat a team once and it could be considered a little fluky. Beat a team twice and well, that’s not so fluky.
Now, being ranked in the state in the middle of the season might be nice, but it doesn’t really matter.
Being ranked in the state at the end of the season, though, matters. So we’ll see what happens with the Panthers.
And while we’re on the subject, Tennent’s only loss came against Quakertown, and the Panthers from Upper Bucks aren’t in the rankings, either.
Makes one wonder.
Matches to watch
Council Rock North at Archbishop Wood, Tuesday, 7 p.m.: The Vikings have already played William Tennent and Neshaminy and now they get the Indians. That’s how you get better as a team and build your program by playing other good programs. And it’s paying off for Wood in the Philadelphia Catholic League standings, too (first place).
Pennsbury at Parkland, Thursday, 7 p.m.: And speaking of good programs, this is why the Falcons are always tough. They take long trips like this one to face really good teams, Parkland is ranked No. 2 in the state by the PVBCA, and is always a state tournament-level opponent. I love nonleague matches like this one. Your team might win or they might lose, but they’ll walk out better for it regardless.
Drew Markol: 215-345-3141; email: dmarkol@calkins.com; Twitter: @dmarkol
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