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Berks
Scholastic - Boys Volleyball http://www.readingeagle.com/re/Sports/818016.asp Exeter advances to quarterfinals By Steve Patton The Eagles departed
Wilson High School as one of just eight teams remaining in the tournament
following opening-round pool play Tuesday, but the outcome wasn't the desired
one, and it showed in the forlorn expressions they wore on their way to the
bus. “To me, there was no
second place in this pool,” said Exeter coach Shawn Ganter after his team
finished as runner-up following a defeat in its final match of the night.
“First place was the only goal.” Exeter put itself in
position to win the pool by taking its first two matches against
Lancaster-Lebanon League teams and then grabbing the first game of its final
match against York League runner-up Northeastern. But the Eagles lost the
final two games to Northeastern and with it the top spot. Exeter's first match
defeat of the season came after the Eagles had taken a 7-1 lead in the
deciding game, only to see the Bobcats storm back for a 15-12 victory and the
top spot in the pool by virtue of their head-to-head win. Exeter (23-1) moves on to
face undefeated Hempfield, which
swept through its pool, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Landisville. The Eagles expected to
see Hempfield, the top-ranked team in the state. But Exeter hoped to meet the
Black Knights in the weekend semifinals. Instead, the Eagles and Black
Knights play in the quarterfinals, with the loser's season coming to an end. “That changes the mindset
a little bit,” Ganter said. “But we'll do what we have to do to get ready.” Coming off a dominating
run through the Berks League playoffs, Exeter struggled early. The Eagles
fought off three game point serves to come from a 14-12 deficit and beat Penn
Manor 16-14, 15-11 in their first match. They then needed three games to beat
Cocalico 15-10, 7-15, 15-6. Exeter seemed to have
righted itself against Northeastern, jumping to a 9-3 lead and winning the
first game 15-7. But after taking a 10-9 lead in the second game, the Eagles
faded at the finish and lost 15-10. The Eagles again seemed
to seize control, taking 7-1 and 10-4 leads in the deciding game. But the
Bobcats scored seven straight points to take a 12-10 lead, then scored the
last three points after Exeter evened the score at 12-12. “There's no way we should
have lost that match,” said Ganter. “No way. If we would have played up to
potential. . . . “I think they were
content with resting in that second game and not pushing the issue. We got
rolling in that first game, and then it went.” Andrew Olree had 46
kills, Matt O'Brien had 32 kills, Derek Domroksi had 16 kills and Andrew
Maynard had 107 assists for Exeter. |