North Pocono's volleyball season ended Friday
afternoon, but not without a fight.
The four-time
District 2 champions lost two matches to
state-ranked opponents and did not advance to
today's semifinal round at the PIAA Class AA
volleyball championships at Penn State University.
Still, the Trojans (19-3) battled to the end,
picking up a win against Huntingdon, the District 6
champion.
"If you told me at the begining of the season,
that even with our inexperience, we would have the
season we had, likely ending up in the top 10 in the
state, I would have been thrilled," North Pocono
coach Chris Summa said when reached by phone. "I am
really happy for this group of seniors."
North Pocono opened play in Pool B against
Ambridge , one of the state's top teams, and the
best player in the state, Nick Goodell.
The Trojans fell to the District 7 champions,
25-17, 25-14, 25-16. Ambridge is ranked second in
the state according to the Pennsylvania Volleyball
Coaches Association.
Leading North Pocono, Brandon Bisignani had nine
kills and Jeremy Ferguson added six kills.
"We had a lot of trouble and everybody is having
trouble with Goodell," Summa said. "He's by far the
best player in the state. We made some defensive
adjustments, but he just sees the floor so well and
he places balls where we weren't."
In the second match against Eastern York, North
Pocono began to get into the tournament both
physically and emotionally, sparked by a raucous
crowd as two buses of students arrived at the
Multi-Sport Complex.
Going toe-to-toe with Eastern York, ranked sixth
in the state, the Trojans lost a tough first game,
25-23.
Unable to regroup and find a rhythm, North Pocono
lost the next two games, 25-20 and 25-18,
eliminating it from contention to advance.
Again, Bisignani led the way for North Pocono
with eight kills and three blocks. Ferguson added
four digs and 12 service points, while Matt Smith
had 13 service points and 21 assists.
"I think if we won game 1, who knows how it might
have impacted the outcome of the match," Summa said.
"Our crowd really got into it and we, as always, got
great support from the students and the community. I
thought coming in that passing and defense would be
the key. And our passing wasn't great at the end of
the games against Eastern York and that hurt us."
Finally, North Pocono finished by winning the
first two games against Huntingdon, 25-21 and 25-18,
securing the win, as Summa began bringing his
seniors off the court in the third game, which the
Trojans lost 25-21.
"A lot of people didn't think we could do this,"
Bisignani said. "To be able to work hard and to win
a fourth straight district title and to get back
down to Penn State was great. We came out and
struggled a little bit early, but we showed that we
could play at this level."
Bisignani finished with 13 kills and four digs,
fellow senior Tyler Smith had seven kills, five digs
and two blocks, and Matt Smith added four kills and
21 assists.
"I'm very happy with our season," Matt Smith
said. "We didn't win the (Wyoming Valley)
conference, but we fought back and won the district
title and we got to Penn State. I think that says a
lot about this team.
"I'm so happy with my entire volleyball career."
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com
e-mail this
share this