Skins Go 1-1 in District One Tournament; Season Ends

Mt. Vernon, Iowa -- OK, that is where I'm typing from, so ...

The webmaster has been in denial after the May 14th loss to Christopher Dock. Two close games went the home team's way, and the second was particularly devastating. Up 23-17, the Skins saw Dock score the next eight points to win, 25-23. Game three went to Dock as well. Neshaminy defeated CR-South on May 12th. The season ends with an outstanding 10-6 overall record and a district tournament win. All in all, a terrific year. Congrats to the players and the coaching staff. All that remains is the team's annual banquet June 1st at Philadelphia Biblical University. The District One final is tonight at CR-South where Pennsbury is likely to beat Pennridge. Dock and William Tennent will play in the 3rd-place game -- also at CR-South -- to see who will advance to the PIAA State Tournament.

Skins Will Host CR-South in District 1 Tourney

Langhorne, Pa. -- The District 1 pairings were announced tonight, and Neshaminy earned a number-six seed and a first-round home game this Tuesday night, May 12. The Skins will play Council Rock-South, a team they defeated twice during the regular season. A win would mean a second-round match at Christopher Dock on Thursday night, May 14. More details to follow.

Skins Finish Off with Bensalem Win, Pennsbury Loss

Langhorne, Pa. -- Neshaminy defeated Bensalem, 3-0, on senior night April 30th to send an outstanding senior class off with a bang. The game scores were 26-24, 25-7 and 25-19. The regular-season finale on Monday, May 4th was not as successful as state-ranked Pennsbury showed its talent with a three-game sweep of the Skins. Game scores were not available. The next piece of big news for Neshaminy will not happen on the court. District One tournament pairings are due out later tonight and will be posted this evening (provided the webmaster gets the information from his son). This link to the Courier Times talks mostly about Pennsbury and William Tennent but provides some insight into the seeding of the tournament:

Bucks County Courier Story (May 6, 2009)

Tennent Stops Neshaminy Freight Train, 3-1

Feasterville, Pa. -- Neshaminy's recent winning run came to a halt against SOL National second-place William Tennent, 3-1, on Wednesday afternoon. The game scores were 25-23, 25-15, 18-25 and 25-15. Tennent moved to 10-3 in the league, while Neshaminy dropped to 8-4. No time to dwell on it as Senior Night awaits this evening. The Skins meet Bensalem in a 7:00p match that will have pre-game ceremonies for seniors Ethan Chase, Greg Korhonen, Ethan Mawhinney, Greg Schumann, Ryan Vaccaro and Darin Yrigoyen.

The Beat Goes On; Skins Beat Rock-North, 3-1

Langhorne, Pa. -- Neshaminy continued its sharp play by avenging an early-season loss to Council Rock-North. On Monday, the Skins won a 3-1 match with relative comfort by game scores of 25-21,25-15, 21-25 and 25-21. The team's serving was effective again, and a pair of seniors notched some impressive hitting stats. Senior Nate Keating had 13 kills and a .391 hitting percentage, while senior Ethan Chase had nine kills and a .385 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, senior Greg Korhonen had five total blocks. Another huge match -- this one at William Tennent looms today. Tennent is 9-3 in SOL play, but a win there really could set up the Skins for a very high seeding in the District One tournament that begins on May 12th.

A Day for the Ages ... Neshaminy Wins Suburban One Tourney

Quakertown, Pa. -- There's still much work to be done, but the 2009 Neshaminy Redskins put their mark on the program in a big way by winning the very prestigious in-season Suburban One Tournament. The Skins upended Pennridge in the finals, 2-0, after playoff-round victories against CR-North and Emmaus. The Skins were 7-1 in Pool Play and clicked on all cylinders. Why duplicate the day when the Suburban One website summed it up in such grand fashion. This recap:

Skins Win! Skins Win!

... features quotes from seniors Ethan Chase, Ryan Mawhinney and Ryan Vaccaro, and assistant coach Kevin Roode, who was filling in for head coach Craig Schneider.

Skins Defeat Truman, 3-0

Langhorne, Pa. -- Neshaminy ran its record to 7-3 on the year with an easy sweep of Truman, 3-0. The game scores were 25-16, 25-11 and 25-5. There was no JV match. The Skins now prepare for a very challenging tournament this weekend at Quakertown High School. Pool play shapes up as follows:

Pool A -- North Penn, Tennent, Emmaus, Truman, Haverford
Pool B -- Neshaminy, Pennridge, Bethlehem Liberty, Lower Merion, Masterman
Pool C -- Quakertown, Christopher Dock, Central Bucks South, Whitehall, Abington
Pool D -- Souderton, Bethlehem Catholic, Upper Dublin, Council Rock-North, Avon Grove

Directions to Quakertown High School to come in a later post.

Neshaminy Completes Season Sweep of CR-South, 3-0

Langhorne, Pa. -- Neshaminy dominated Council Rock-South yesterday by game scores of 25-20, 25-16 and 25-20 to complete a season sweep of the Golden Hawks. The Skins recorded 37 kills and a .367 hitting percentage, while the defense supplied 25 digs. Neshaminy returns to action Thursday afternoon with a home match against Truman. The Skins find themselves in third place in the Suburban One League's National Division, behind Pennsbury (10-0) and William Tennent (7-2) and just ahead of CR-North (4-3).

Skins Sweep Abington

Abington, Pa. -- Neshaminy began the second half of the season in convincing fashion, defeating the Ghosts of Abington by a 3-0 count on Thursday afternoon. The game scores were 25-10, 27-25 and 25-18. Team stats on the Suburban One site had the Skins with 43 kills and an outstanding .468 hitting percentage. Neshaminy's defense came up with 29 digs. It's a off weekend for the team, and two matches await next week. The Skins defeated Council Rock-South, 3-1, on the road earlier in the year, and the rematch is Monday afternoon at home. Another home match with Truman will take place on Thursday afternoon. Neshaminy swept Truman in Levittown a couple of weeks ago. The final in-season tournament of the year is next Saturday, April 25th at Quakertown. The tournaments are important factors in seeding in the PIAA District One tournament, which begins on May 12th. Neshaminy appears headed to a qualifying spot in the post-season.

Skins Drop 3-1 Decision to Pennsbury

Langhorne, Pa. -- Pennsbury's undefeated record stayed intact at Neshaminy yesterday, but its string of Suburban One games won did not. The Falcons dropped their first game of the year to the Skins, but they walked away with the most important thing ... a 3-1 victory. The game scores were 25-19,17-25,25-20 and 25-20. The win dropped Neshaminy's overall record to 4-3 with a match at Abington on the docket today. Today's match photo shows senior hitter Ryan Vaccaro (No. 8) rising for a kill attempt with junior setter Brent Jamison at the ready.

Skins Win "Battle at the Castle!"

Reading, Pa. -- Reading High School is known as "The Castle on the Hill" because it resembles a castle ... tonight the Neshaminy volleyball team members feel like kings. An emotional day at Reading High's "Battle at the Castle" ended with a championship trophy and individual medals for the Skins, who upended William Tennent in the best-of-three final. After falling in the first game, Neshaminy was on the brink of a win in game two with a 24-21 lead, only to see Tennent score the next four points and put the Skins' backs to the wall. Back-and-forth play from that point on finally ended with a 31-29 thrilling victory. The Skins had momentum on their side in the third game and won by a decisive 15-8 score; the winning kill came off the left arm of senior Ethan Chase. Neshaminy nearly didn't get to the final, trailing Eastern York, 22-17, in the one-game semifinal. The Skins rallied to win, 25-23. Neshaminy notched pool-play wins against Reading (2-0), Eastern York (2-0), William Tennent (1-1) and Elizabethtown (1-1) to go 6-2 and earn a first-round bye in the playoff round. The Skins return to action Wednesday against Suburban One powerhouse and undefeated Pennsbury.

Directions to Reading High School

The address for GPS units is:

801 N. 13th Street
Reading, PA

Directions that you can print out are found at:

Reading High School

The webmaster STRONGLY recommends The Pike Cafe as a lunch or dinner option! Varsity players are reminded that the bus leaves the high school at 6:30a, and JV players are reminded that attendance at one of the in-season tournaments is recommended by the coaching staff.

Skins Bounce Back after Loss to Tennent

Bensalem, Pa. -- Following a 3-1 loss to William Tennent on April 6, Neshaminy came back with a decisive 3-0 victory over the Bensalem Owls. The game scores were 25-12, 25-14 and 25-21. The win raised the team's record to 4-2 on the year and is a boost heading into this Saturday's tournament at Reading High School. The Skins nearly won this event last year, losing to Haverford in the finals. Directions to Reading High will follow on a later post.

Skins Perform Well at Penn Manor Tournament

Neshaminy went 5-3 in pool play and then advanced in the first round of the playoffs at this past Saturday's tournament at Penn Manor High School in Millersville, Pa. The Skins defeated Mechanicsburg in that first playoff-round match and then were bounced by Carlisle in the semifinals. Pictured here at right are seniors Ryan Vaccaro and Ryan Mawhinney.

Directions to Penn Manor High School

Neshaminy plays in a tournament at Penn Manor High School in Millersville, Pa., this Saturday. The school's address for GPS use is:

100 East Cottage Avenue
Millersville, PA

Directions from Route 30 were the only ones found on the school district's website:

From Route 30: Take Rt. 30 to Rohrerstown Exit, turn onto Rt. 741 toward Millersville University. Follow Rt. 741 East to Rt. 999. Turn right onto Rt. 999 – continue through 2 traffic lights to "Y" at George St. and Rt. 999. Turn left and continue to first traffic light. At light, turn left onto Cottage Avenue. High School is on right.

Again, JV players have been encouraged to attend this tournament because of the high level of play found in central Pennsylvania's District 3.

CR-North Hands Neshaminy 3-1 Defeat

Newtown, Pa. -- Neshaminy's undefeated record came to screeching halt on Thursday at the hands of Council Rock-North High School. The Indians won the match by a convincing 3-1 score. Rock's Andrew Hinton was the difference in the match with a reported 30 kills. Neshaminy attempts to bounce back in league play next week, but a trip to Lancaster awaits on Saturday. The Skins will play in a very competitive field at Penn Manor High School.

CR-North Match Site Changed

Neshaminy's game tomorrow (April 2nd), originally scheduled as a home match, is now at Council Rock-North High School in Newtown. The Skins' gym is not available because it is being decorated for the Sophomore Dinner Dance.

Skins Roll Over Truman, 3-0

Levittown, Pa. -- The Neshaminy boys went to 3-0 on the year with an easy 3-0 victory at Truman today. The game scores were 25-11, 25-10 and 25-1. Today's match photo shows an amazing 19-0 run to start the final game with all 19 points served by senior Ethan Chase. There was no JV match today. The Skins now have a 9-1 games record in league play and are 16-3 in the three league matches and one tournament. But things will get interesting now as the Skins play perennially strong Council Rock-North on Thursday and then travel to what should be a very challenging tournament at Penn Manor High School (near Lancaster) on Saturday. The field will be packed with District 3 teams, and that's the power district in Pennsylvania. Directions to Penn Manor on a later post.

Skins' Win at CR-South Featured on Suburban One Site

For an in-depth story on last night's win against Council Rock-South, click on this link:

Story

And for some great action photos of the match, which are available for order, click on this link:

Photos

Skins Win at CR-South, 3-1

Holland, Pa. -- Neshaminy traveled to nearby Council Rock-South High School and earned its first road victory of the year, a 3-1 decision against the Golden Hawks. The first game was tight with Neshaminy a 25-23 victor. The Skins pulled away in the second game to win fairly easily, 25-16. Game three was another story. Despite leading 22-17, Neshaminy dropped a 25-23 decision and faced a game four. The Skins broke open a close game and won going away, 25-21. Ethan Mawhinney was credited with 16 kills on the night and had at least four in the decisive game. Greg Schumann had 22 digs from his libero position, and Ryan Vaccaro had 32 assists as the team's setter. Vaccaro is today's match photo (right - uniform number 8), courtesy of his dad, Joe, the unofficial/official team photographer. The team is off until Tuesday when it travels to Truman for another road match.

A Great Comeback

This is yesterday's (March 25th) full second game video against Abington. Neshaminy was down 10-4 and 20-17 but came back to win. Tremendous first point, by the way, that was won by Abington but showcased great defense by the Skins.

Skins Open Season with 3-0 Win vs. Abington

Langhorne, Pa. -- The Neshaminy volleyball team defeated Abington, 3-0, in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday evening. Neshaminy went out quickly, winning game one by a 25-16 score. Trailing 10-4 in game two, the Skins went on a run and eventually took the game, 25-21. Neshaminy also was down 20-17 in that second game. Game three was not much of a contest as the Skins pulled away to win, 25-15. Today's match photo is of senior Greg Schumann, who is the team's starting libero. No rest for the Skins, who return to action Thursday night at Council Rock-South. The Skins won both games against CR-South in the Haverford Tournament this past Saturday.

Skins Lose in Semis of Haverford "March Mayhem"

The first tournament of the year wasn't a bad one for the Neshaminy volleyball team. The Skins began the day with the 8:00a match against Masterman H.S. of Philadelphia. After winning game one, Neshaminy lost the second game, but it was the last loss of Pool play. Neshaminy swept two-game matches with Glen Mills, Lower Merion and Council Rock-South. The photo to the right shows juniors Brent Jamison and Kyle Ejsmont putting up a formidable block against Lower Merion (photo credit -- Joe Vaccaro). That meant a semifinal match against Christopher Dock, one of the traditional powers in District One. An exciting match ended in a 25-23 loss for Neshaminy. The event should have been a bit of a confidence-builder for Neshaminy, which begins league play this Wednesday against Abington. The match is at home with the JV match at 3:30p and the varsity match immediately thereafter.

How to Get to Haverford H.S.

Parents and friends traveling to Haverford High School for this Saturday's tournament can use 200 Mill Road; Haverford, PA on their GPS units. This link:

Haverford High School

... will get you directions that you can print out. The tournament is called "March Mayhem," and Neshaminy plays in Pool B with J.R. Masterman of Philadelphia, Lower Merion, Council Rock South and Glen Mills. The 'Skins play the first match of the morning, an 8:00a tussle with Masterman. Pool A features St. Paul VI (I think the Haverford schedule mistakenly typed Paul IV), Collingswood, Haverford, Central Bucks East and Christopher Dock. Remember, Coach Schneider has recommended that JV players attend at least one of the four tournaments. His preference is the Penn Manor Tournament on April 4th because of the high level of play that Neshaminy is likely to see that day. Penn Manor is in the Lancaster, Pa., area.

Time Change for C.R. South Match on 3/26

First off, when typing the schedule a couple of days ago, the match at Council Rock South next Thursday (3/26) was omitted inadvertently. The schedule distributed at the beginning of the year listed the match as an afternoon match, but we are told the times have been changed to 5:30p for the JVs and 7:00p for the varsity. Remember that the length of the JV match actually determines when the varsity starts, so in this case the varsity start time could be slightly earlier or slightly later than 7:00p.

We're BAAAACK!

OK, the webmaster apologizes for letting all this time lag between the end of last season and the beginning of 2009 ... which kinda already has begun! Neshaminy has played two scrimmages, most recently a thrashing of Central Bucks East yesterday (March 16). The regular season begins this Saturday when the 'Skins travel to Haverford for a multi-team tournament. It's a chance for a bit of payback for the team since they were beaten by Haverford in the opening round of last year's District One tournament. Haverford also defeated Neshaminy earlier in 2008 in the finals of the Reading Tournament. Players are expected to be ready for the bus at 6:30a at the high school. Embedded here is a YouTube slide show that was shot and put together by Joe Vaccaro, father of senior Ryan Vaccaro. It's a good one!