HS VOLLEYBALL: Blue Ridge seizes Lackawanna League lead; DV still unbeaten; Week 4 poll

Last week was huge in the Lackawanna League as teams finished the first half of their schedules, then opened the second half.

It began with the much-anticipated showdown between then unbeaten teams Blue Ridge and Forest City. Both teams had been impressive in starting the season with all wins. Then, at Forest City, the Raiders flexed their muscle.

 

Bleck, Franks help Blue Ridge stay unbeaten

 

 

Ben Bleck had 24 assists and eight digs and Cameron Franks had 15 kills, 14 digs and 12 points to lead Blue Ridge to a 3-0 win over Forest City boys volleyball match between the two Lackawanna League leaders Tuesday.
Bobby Reynolds had 15 digs and seven points and Garrett Conklin had 26 digs for the Raiders (6-0).
Nicholas Andrews had seven points, seven digs and nine assists for Forest City (5-1), Matthew Giles had eight kills, Brady Hentschel had seven points and five aces and Carmine Gigliotti had seven digs.

 

 

	Blue Ridge (6-0)	25	25	25
	Forest City (5-1)	22	16	17

 

 

STANDINGS

(As of April 19)

 

 

Forest City had to bounce back quickly after its first loss of the season. On Thursday, the Foresters traveled to play Abington Heights, which had two losses in the first half and they were to Forest City and Blue Ridge. If the Comets had aspirations of defending its Lackawanna League title, they needed to win the rematch after a tight 3-2 loss in the 2019 season opener.

 

 

Nicholas Andrews  had (20 points, 18 digs, six kills and 20 assists to lead Forest City to a 3-2 win over Abington Heights in a Lackawanna League match.
Matthew Giles had 18 points, 11 blocks, 11 kills and 10 assists for the Foresters and Carmine Gigliotti had (17 points and 19 digs.
Will Brown had six kills for Abington Heights, Matt Pacyna had 18 assists and eight kills and Nate Steenback had 18 assists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISTRICT 2 STANDINGS

(As of April 19)

 

As a reminder, District 2 is using a Power Rating System to qualify for the postseason. With that formula, all matches count toward a team’s rating. Also, with two classifications in District 2, teams are involved in subregional tournaments, which includes teams from District 11 and District 1.

Here’s who qualify, as announced in a release by chairperson Maureen Williams:

 

CLASS AAA

District 2 is in a subregion with District 11. Delaware Valley and Hazleton Area are the District II schools in the AAA classification. In order to qualify for the playoffs a team must either finish in the Top 8 ranked teams OR have a .500 winning percentage in either the league or overall record. Tournaments do not count in either the power rankings or winning percentage.

FIRST ROUND and QUARTERFINALS: Thursday, May 16th at the highest seeds.

SEMIFINALS: Tuesday, May 21st at a site to be determined.

FINAL: Thursday, May 23rd.

 

 

 

 

CLASS AA

 

District 2 is in a subregion with District 2 (Dock Mennonite) and District 11 (Bethlehem Catholic). In order to qualify for the playoffs a team must either finish in the Top 8 ranked teams or have a .500 winning percentage in either the league or overall record. Tournaments do not count in the power ranking or winning percentage. A minimum of 8 teams would qualify for the subregional but the potential for more teams qualifying exists if they finish above .500.

FIRST ROUND: Monday, May 13th (Held only if more than 8 teams qualify for the playoffs).

QUARTERFINALS: Wednesday, May 15th.

• Doubleheader matches scheduled at the sites of the No. 1 and No. 2 seed. The first match will begin at 5 p.m. with the second match to begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match.

 

SEMIFINALS: Tuesday, May 21st

• Doubleheader at the site of the highest remaining seed. The first match will begin at 5 p.m. with the second match to follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match.

 

FINALS AND THIRD-PLACE: Thursday, May 23rd at a neutral site.

• Doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m.. The third place match will be played first. The championship match will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match.

 

• NOTE: The top three teams from the subregion will qualify for the first round of the state tournament that starts Tuesday, May 28th.

 

 

 

 

NOTE: Highlighted teams have clinched playoff berths.

 

 

 

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INSIDE THE WVC

 

 

Delaware Valley and Holy Redeemer are on track to decide the conference championship on May 8 in the regular-season finale.

 

 

Delaware Valley 3, Nanticoke 0

 

 

Tom Raniero had 28 assists and Jackson Shafer had 14 kills to lead the Warriors to a Wyoming Valley Conference win.
Matt Seger had 13 points and six aces for the winners.

 

 

 

 

STANDINGS

(As of April 19)

 

 

 

 

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TOP 5 POLL

 

 

Here is The Times-Tribune High School Volleyball Top 5 for Week 4. Blue Ridge’s win over Forest City caused a flip-flop among the No. 2 and No. 3 teams.

 

 

	Rank	Team	League	Overall
	1	Delaware Valley WARRIORS	7–0	8–0
	2	Blue Ridge RAIDERS	6–0	6–0
	3	Forest City FORESTERS	6–1	7–1
	4	North Pocono TROJANS	3–5	5–5
	5	Abington Heights COMETS	4–3	4–4

 

 

 

 

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WHAT’S AHEAD

 

 

 

MONDAY

Wyoming Valley Conference
Wyoming Valley West at Delaware Valley
North Pocono at Hanover Area

 

 

TUESDAY

Lackawanna League
Abington Heights at Susquehanna
Western Wayne at Forest City
Blue Ridge at Elk Lake

 

 

WEDNESDAY

Wyoming Valley Conference
Delaware Valley at North Pocono

 

 

THURSDAY

Lackawanna League
Blue Ridge at Abington Heights
Elk Lake at Mountain View
Forest City at Susquehanna

 

 

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