by Tom Utescher

Germantown Academy finished the 2016 regular season volleyball campaign as the runner-up within the Inter-Ac League last Tuesday. The defending champion Patriots notched their second victory over Agnes Irwin School this season, 3-1, and earlier they had swept home/away bouts against Baldwin School and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

Heading into the Pa. Independent Schools playoff at 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the Inter-Ac, GA dropped one match outside of the league to Gwynedd Mercy Academy and two within the league to the Academy of Notre Dame. Notre Dame placed second in the Inter-Ac last fall, and then knocked off the Patriots in the PAIS finals.

Although Agnes Irwin is not the league power it once was and recently lost to Springside Chestnut Hill for the first time in modern memory, the Owls always seem to get up for GA. In their first meeting this season, the Pats had to go to a fifth game to overcome Irwin on the road, and at home last week the victory only came a little more easily.

Germantown won the first set, 23-25, but in the second Irwin moved up out of a 19-all tie to prevail, 25-20. The only truly convincing win for GA came in the third round, 25-15, then the hosts scored the last four points in the fourth set for a match-clinching 25-20 victory.

"They always seem to give us a tough time," noted GA head coach Dan Sullivan. "They were battling, and midway through the match it seemed like we were playing uninspired volleyball."

Once three Germantown errors helped Irwin go up 4-0 in the opening set, the Pats pulled even at 7-7, and from there on the teams went neck-and-neck most of the way. A hit by senior outside Carly Shimota gave GA a 19-18 edge, but the Owls put up four points in a row for a 22-19 lead.

Shimota sandwiched two more kills around one AI point for a 21-23 tally, then she stepped to the service line. One of her serves was unreturned and bracketing that point were two kills for senior Emma Rapp, pushing the Patriots ahead for a set point at 24-23. Junior Jenna Schumann slapped the ball over at Irwin, and on their dig the Owls drove the ball hard up into the ceiling and couldn't play it when it came down.

Serving errors contributed to GA's difficulties, although the hosts improved in this area later in the match. They coughed up six points in this manner in the opening set, sending two serves out over the baseline and four more into the net. The Pat punched the ball long on a number of their hits as well, and had stretches where they just seemed to lack focus.

One exception was junior setter Cat Polisano, who steadily piled up 44 assists for the afternoon.

Addressing the serving miscues, Coach Sullivan said, "I preach that when the ball is on our side and the serve is in our hands, we've got to hold on for at least two or three points. When our serving game is on, it's really strong, but it hurts us when we just serve a point and then have an error and give the ball back."

The Patriots seemed to be needed to be pushed by the Owls in order to really focus. After a 17-17 tally in the second stanza, Irwin inched ahead, helped throughout the set by sound blocking. GA evened it up again at 20-all, then lost the side-out through an error, and the Owls ran off four more points in a row to capture the set.

Irwin kept pace in the third set for a while, and the teams were tied for the last time at 9-9. The Patriots proceeded to take an 18-13 lead as Schumann, Rapp, and Shimota all furnished points up front.

The last side-out came on a hit from the middle by senior Abby Starzecky that made it 20-15, and she then proceeded to serve out the set. She chalked up an ace just inside the Irwin baseline, and Polisano scored on a "quick" over the net instead of setting on the second touch. Rapp had two kills here, but set point came on an error when a tip attempt by the Owls didn't clear the net.

Irwin opened the fourth round with three consecutive points, but later GA put together runs of 6-0 and 5-0. Still, the Owls wouldn't go away, and late in the set they scored on a hit to move within one point of the Pats at 21-20.

Freshman hitter Caitlyn Priore had been sent out on the floor for Germantown, and had won over the home crowd with her precocious poise and her accurate serving and hitting.

"I put her in there in a big spot, because we definitely wanted to hold on and win that set," Sullivan said. "We've been giving her a lot of time lately, and she's been doing a great job."

Starzecky had been successful at tipping the ball over Irwin blockers, and she did so one more time to give the home team service with a 22-20 lead. Schumann rotated back to the baseline to put the ball in play, and through two Owls errors, the Patriots approached match point.

Polisano put over another quick on the right side, and Irwin's outside left, facing inward, batted the ball up and behind her head, out over the sideline. Rapp registered 18 kills and Schumann 17 in the GA victory, with Starzecky, Shimota, and junior Alison Weber adding nine, eight, and three kills, respectively.

What is the team going to concentrate on for postseason play?

"I think our blocking has got to improve, especially against the good teams we're going to face," Sullivan pointed out. "We need to go up strong and penetrate. I was pretty happy with our serve receive today and just in general; that's always been a strong part of our game."