Mount senior captain Megan McGettigan takes a swipe at the ball. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Last Thursday evening, Mount St. Joseph Academy volleyball players were discovering the truth in the old adage that it’s tough to beat the same team three times in a row.

The Mount Magic had defeated Gwynedd Mercy twice during the Catholic Academies regular season, finishing second in the league after Villa Maria while the Gwynedd Monarchs were fourth behind third-place St. Basil.

Last Thursday’s third meeting was taking place at the Mount in the opening round of the District 1 Class AAA tournament. The third-seeded Magic won a hard-fought opening game, 25-19, but Gwynedd, the sixth seed, won the second round at 25-18 and then went out to a 13-6 lead in the third game.

Later on, the visitors were close to victory with a 23-21 advantage, but the Magic pulled themselves back from the edge and ran off four straight point to win the game. The momentum had shifted to the Mounties, who went on to take the fourth game, 25-14, a post a 3-1 win in the match.

They advanced to a semifinal match against second-seeded Pope John Paul II, the team that knocked the Magic out of the district tourney in the same round last year. On the line will be not only an appearance in the District 1 final, but also a berth in the state tournament as one of the district’s top two teams.

In last Thursday’s encounter, the Mount started out on a roll, getting kills from seniors Sasha Davey and Megan McGettigan and junior Katie Tausz, as well as a scoring pass by junior libero Maggie Fitzpatrick.

The Magic went up 13-4, but then the Monarchs dug in their heels, and a few minutes later they were back within four points of the leaders at 17-13. A little later the visitors had it down to three at 21-18, but got no closer. Gwynedd was serving at 19-23, and MSJ junior Shannon Reilly contacted the ball with a strange combination of a tip and a block with her back to the net.

Whatever it was, it got the point and side-out for Mount St. Joe. Senior Catie Esslinger served the ball, and Gwynedd’s third touch on the return sent the ball out over the baseline, giving the Magic a 25-19 win.

The Magic trailed by a few points early in the second game before pulling even at 6-6. By the middle of the game, though, the Mount had fallen behind by half-a-dozen, 10-16.

Catie Esslinger (top), a Mount senior, goes for a pass near the baseline along with junior libero Maggie Fitzpatrick. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

The Mounties halved that deficit as the score climbed to 17-20, but they only scored one point after that as the Monarchs collected a 25-18 win that evened the match score, 1-1.

Newly inspired, Gwynedd rang up the first three points of the third game and then continued to lead most of the way. After making up some larger deficits, the Magic were within two points at 21-23, but now they only had one more point to give.

The Monarchs left the door open with a fourth-hit violation for a Mount side-out. Reilly rotated back to the service line and delivered a ball that dipped down sharply after it crossed the net. Gwynedd was unable to return it, and the score was now even at 23-all.

The visitors couldn’t handle Reilly’s next serve either, and then Mount St. Joe secured a 25-23 win with a tip by senior Summer Adamson from left outside that dropped down to the right side of the GMA court.

Nevertheless, the Monarchs made a strong start in the fourth round, forging ahead 5-1 before handing the ball to the Magic through a service error. Mount junior Kelly Rothenberg now began to generate offense on the middle of the front row with hits and blocks, and sophomore Vivianna Carrasco stepped up as well. Junior Olivia Nace belted a few from the left end, and when she stuffed a ball hovering near the net tape right down into the midst of the Monarchs, Gwynedd called time-out to talk over a 10-15 shortfall.

The visitors inched closer after a few exchanges, but the Mounties still led 17-13 and then added points with a Carrasco swing and a block by Rothenberg. The Monarchs got one point back, but it would be their last.

Rothenberg found the floor on a tip that gave the serve to Reilly, whose first attempt flummoxed Gwynedd for a 21-14 score.

The Monarchs then hit the ball out on the next sequence, and the Magic got to 23-14 on a Rothenberg block. Next, a very long rally with several crowd-pleasing digs ended with a Gwynedd hit burrowing into the net instead of going over it. The Mount was now playing for the match at 24-14, and on a floating ball that seemed to be asking to be set, the sly Reilly quickly pushed it over the net instead and the Monarchs couldn’t keep it off the floor.

For the Mounties, it was on to the semifinal round and another clash with the Panthers of Pope John Paul II.