NEW CASTLE, Pa. – Rallying from an 18-13 deficit in the fourth set, Meadville punched its ticket to the PIAA Class 2A title game for the fourth time in the past five seasons played with a 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22) win over WPIAL champion Mars Tuesday night in the boys’ volleyball semifinals at Shenango High School.
Not only were the unbeaten D10 champion Bulldogs (20-0) down 18-13 in the fourth but they also trailed 22-20 following a Mars ace that forced a Meadville timeout.
Out of the timeout, a Mars service error gave the Bulldogs life before a Jack Brown block tied the match at 22-all.
That’s when Luc Soerensen took over with three straight kills including the match-winner.
Soerensen’s final rally capped off a 15-kill performance for the 6-foot-8 sophomore.
Parker Gosnell added 12 kills in the victory while Tymir Phillips added 10.
Philips played a key role in the fourth-set comeback with two kills and a block.
His first kill of the rally made it 19-16 and then he followed with a block that Mars was able to dig but not get over the net to make it 19-18. He then had a clean block that tied things up at 19 before his final kill of the night made it 20-20.
Following that kill, Mars (22-1) used a Meadville serving error and the ace to regain the two-point advantage. But those were the final points the Planets scored.
Brown ran the offense for Meadville with 40 set assists while Lucas White paced the defense with 12 digs.
Meadville, which won the PIAA 2A title in 2019 before finishing as runners-up in 2021 and 2022, will face Manheim Central, a 3-2 winner over Exeter in the other semifinal, in the championship match at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 15, at Penn State’s Rec Hall.
NOTES: This is Meadville’s eighth trip to the PIAA championship match. The Bulldogs are 2-5 all-time in championship matches losing to Homestead (2-0) in 1962, beating Peabody (2-0) in 1964, losing to Penn Hills (3-1) in 1965, losing to Northeastern (3-1) in 2010, beating York Suburban (3-2) in 2019, losing to Lower Dauphin (3-1) in 2021, and losing to Lower Dauphin (3-2) in 2022. The first three trips were in a single-class system while the last five, including this year, have all been in Class 2A in a two-class system … This is the fifth straight season District 10 will be represented in the Class 2A title game … After Meadville won in 2019 and lost in 2021 and 2022, Cochranton lost to Lower Dauphin last season. There was no season in 2020 because of COVID-19. Saegertown also lost in Class 2A in 2011 and 2015 while Maplewood lost in 2010 meaning District 10 has been represented in the 2A title match in eight of the past 15 seasons.
Editor’s note:The YDL Sports Network was not live at this match. Any stats are courtesy of the Meadville coaching staff. Any play-by-play descriptions came from the Cool 101.7 FM video broadcast of the match
