Trojans roll past Spring Grove to keep hopes alive
Once Chambersburg's boys volleyball team overcame what coach Marta Cummings called "Game 1 woes," it had no problem securing a non-league victory over Spring Grove on Wednesday night.
"For some reason, we just come out flat," Cummings said. "I had to call a timeout about six points in. We just woke up, and we knew we needed to be aggressive."
The Trojans got out of the first set with a narrow victory before rolling to a win in Set 2. Chambersburg eventually completed the sweep, winning 3-0 on Senior Night.
"I've been playing with these seniors all my life," Trojan junior Dalton Strite said. "It was great to get a win, and give us a chance to possibly move on."
After winning the first set, 25-18, Chambersburg (8-5) dominated the second, 25-6. Cummings and the Trojans then switched around some rotations, and still managed to pull out a 25-21 win in the final set.
"We lost our momentum (in the second set), and really didn't have any focus left," Spring Grove coach Cameron Mummert said. "We discussed that and fixed what we needed to to get back into the third game."
Strite was a big factor in the victory. He went on a seven-point run of his own, notching two kills and five aces in the streak. Four of those aces came on consecutive serves.
"I think it was all energy," Strite said. "We have the physicality with our players and everything; we just haven't put the energy in all year. We actually got it this game, which is pretty much all we needed."
With the victory, the Trojan gave themselves a chance at the District 3 Class AAA playoffs. They are currently ranked 14th, with the top 12 teams qualifying for the postseason.
"We're going to be watching the power rankings for the next 48 hours," Cummings said. "Physically, we have what we need; it's just consistency and the mental game. When the guys are having fun, things go our way."
Chambersburg's offense was led by Riley Washington, who had 12 kills. Strite and Landon Miller each had six kills, while Strite led the defense with 12 digs. Will Gerhart followed right behind with 10 digs.