Posted: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 9:38 pm | Updated: 7:43 am, Wed May 6, 2015.
WARMINSTER — It had a little bit of wiggle room in case it lost, but that wouldn’t be the case Tuesday night for Archbishop Wood’s boys volleyball team.
Instead, the Vikings, playing what their coach called one of their best matches of the season, rolled to a 3-0 win over La Salle to clinch the Philadelphia Catholic League regular-season title with still another match to go.
“Tonight was Senior Night, and I think that helped motivate our guys even a little more,” Wood coach Brendan Ledwith said.
“We have 10 seniors and they showed a lot of maturity. We made some errors, but we were patient and played a full 25 points in each set.
The PCL championship, which La Salle won a year ago, was the first for the Vikings in just the second season for boys volleyball in the league.
“This was probably the best we’ve played all season,” said Wood senior outside hitter Jack Waltrich, who had nine kills, five aces and four blocks.
“The first time we played La Salle, it went to five (games), but we were ready to play tonight, and our coach has a lot to do with that. Everyone on our team is reliable and it feels good to get this.”
Up next for Wood will be its PCL regular-season finale at Lansdale Catholic (7 p.m.) on Thursday before opening up the PCL tournament Tuesday at home (7 p.m.) against a to-be-determined opponent.
“We want to play well in the Catholic League tournament and, hopefully, win the (PIAA) District (12) championship,” Waltrich said.
“That won’t be easy, and we know that we have to keep playing as well as we can.”
Against the Explorers, the Vikings dominated from start to finish, winning by scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-22. And, what was most impressive was that every time the Explorers made a run and switched the momentum, the Vikings had an answer.
For example, in the third game, with the score 17-15, Waltrich and fellow senior Rob Russell (seven blocks, three kills) combined on a huge block, and Waltrich followed with a nifty kill moments later that knotted things at 20.
Another kill from Waltrich and then a kill from senior Ryan Harold (nine kills) ended it.
“I’m proud of all the guys,” Ledwith said.
“As juniors, these guys embraced the game, and their commitment level really helped. And they’ve kept that going.”
Waltrich, like many of the Vikings, only picked up the sport in earnest last season when Wood fielded its first team.
“I used to play lacrosse,” Waltrich said. “But then when I heard that Wood was adding volleyball, I wanted to give it a try.
“I had played CYO volleyball, and playing here has really been a lot of fun.”
Notes: The Explorers are a PIAA Class AAA program for volleyball (large enrollment), while the Vikings play in Class AA. ... Wood senior Chris Quaglia contributed 34 assists and a kill.
Drew Markol: 215-345-3141; email:Â dmarkol@calkins.com; Twitter: @dmarkol
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