October 18, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mount volleyball fights, but falls to Merion
by TOM UTESCHER

Facing an undefeated Merion Mercy volleyball squad that is a legitimate state title contender, the Mount St. Joseph Academy Magic gave a good account of themselves last Thursday evening. The Golden Bears prevailed 3-0, as they had in an earlier meeting between the teams, but the Mount managed to put significantly more points on the board (a total of 42 to Merion’s 75) this time around.

“I think overall, it kind of showed how we improved through the season,” said senior outside hitter Chrissy Fesnak, who is an MSJ co-captain along with middle hitter Sarah McGorry. “We’ve learned to make our offense quicker, and we need to use quickness against a team like Merion because we’re not as tall as them. I think our training showed in this match.”

Before the bout got underway, the Mount St. Joe squad (8-5, 4-3 in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies) staged a ceremony to honor their departing seniors; Fesnak, McGorry, Michelle McNamara, Meg Patterson, Michelle Steinmetz, and Katie Tenzinger.

Although appearing to lose their concentration at times, the Bears (12-0) had enough pure talent to wrap up Thursday’s contest in three straight games. In addition to established scorers such as six-foot seniors Helen Fitzpatrick and Erin McInnes and junior power pounder Danielle Carrozza, Merion has picked up 5’11” freshman twins Shelby and Stacey Manthrope.

Looking to regain the heights they reached in 2001, when they won the Class AA state championship with a 50-0 record, the Bears now appear among the top 50 teams in the national rankings (other regions are more prominent in the sport; there are 12 California teams in the top 25).

However, Merion seemed taken aback when a series of blocks and hits by McGorry (12 total kills) boosted the Mount to an early 5-2 lead in game one. Regrouping, the Bears ran off seven straight points to move ahead, and they led 17-10 in the middle of the game.

Kills by Fesnak, McNamara, and freshman Carley Krill helped the hosts stay reasonably close up to 21-16. Fitzpatrick (13 kills) then drove the Bears onwards by scoring on two pushes and a hit, and a spike by McInnes (13 kills) secured game point at 25-18.

The outcome of game two wasn’t in doubt for long, as Fitzpatrick and McInnes led the visitors out to a 13-2 advantage. Carrozza then stepped up for the Bears with four kills and a masterful spinning, diving service ace. The Magic couldn’t recover, losing 25-7 to go down 0-2 in the match.

Three kills by McGorry, combined with some Merion miscues, got the Magic off to an 8-2 lead in the third game. The MSJ senior would rack up six kills in the game, but the Bears clawed their way back into it, catching up at 11-all. Merion would get five scoring hits from McInness and four from Shelby Manthope (nine total kills) by the end of the game.

The Mount contested many points fiercely, and one long rally featured nearly miraculous digs by Fesnak and junior Abbey Mulhern. The Magic couldn’t halt the Bears’ progress, though, and eventually a putback by Erica Battista gave Merion game (and match) point, 25-17.

“We definitely did better than in our first match with them,” summed up MSJ’s Fesnak.