Trojans, Devils ready for districts

October 26, 2007|By DAN KAUFFMAN

No. 1 Chambersburg and No. 2 Greencastle-Antrim both won Mid-Penn Conference tournament titles and will enter next week's PIAA District 3 playoffs with plenty of momentum.

The Trojans (19-1) captured the Mid-Penn Class AAA crown Wednesday, defeating Central Dauphin in four games and Carlisle in three for the title. The Thundering Herd pushed Chambersburg to five games in each of their Mid-Penn Commonwealth matchups earlier this season.

"We played really well and blocked really well against Carlisle," Trojans coach Ty Frelin said. "We did a good job reading their hitters, and our defense played really well. The scores were all close (25-20, 25-23, 25-20), so it's not like we ran away."

Chambersburg will start play in District 3-AAA pool play on Tuesday at Gettysburg. The Trojans are in Pool C with Gettysburg - Chambersburg holds a three-game victory over the Warriors this season - as well as Dallastown and Garden Spot. The top two teams in each of four pools will advance to Thursday's quarterfinals, with semifinals and finals being played Saturday.

"Gettysburg is solid, has a good setter and a nice outside hitter," Frelin said. "We beat them at home, but it was a good match. Dallastown we've seen at a tournament where they played Greencastle, and we should match up pretty well against them. Garden Spot is one of the top teams in the state and is one of the favorites in the district.

"If we play to our potential and don't try to do things we're incapable of doing, we have a good chance."

The Blue Devils (19-2) won the Mid-Penn Class AA title Wednesday with impressive sweeps of Northern and Shippensburg.

Greencastle's only nontournament loss this year came at Chambersburg last Friday in five games - the Blue Devils won the first two but lost senior setter Kortney Eshleman to an injury and the Trojans rallied. Eshleman returned on Wednesday and had 49 assists in the two tournament matches.

"We have quite a few injuries at this point, unfortunately," Greencastle coach Corry Eagler said. "Everyone will play, but they're not all 100 percent, so we're trying to take it easy and have one strong practice Saturday before Monday."

The Blue Devils start play in the District 3-AA playoffs on Monday at Lower Dauphin as part of Pool A with Delone Catholic, Trinity and Muhlenberg. Greencastle swept Trinity twice in the Mid-Penn Capital, while Delone Catholic is considered one of the state's strongest Class AA teams.

"We definitely know when we get up against top teams, we play our best games," said Eagler.

The District 3-AA quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, and the semifinals and finals on Saturday.

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