Cedar Crest volleyballers overwhelmed by Hempfield
Friday, May 5, 2000
By JEFF FALK
Daily News Sportswriter
LANDISVILLE -- There is no shame in getting beat by the No. 1 team in the state. There is in not putting forth your best effort.
The Cedar Crest volleyball team did not take its "A" game to Hempfield last night, and subsequently the Falcons had their heads handed to them by the powerful Black Knights. Hempfield took 44 minutes out of its Senior Night activities to dispose of the Falcons 15-4, 15-4 in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section One match.
The Black Knights, unbeaten and the top-ranked team in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll, trailed the Falcons only briefly, early. Hempfield's domination of the net never allowed the Falcons to get anything serious going.
"They were on," said Cedar Crest head coach Craig Dyer, "and we were not. We had a real bad practice (Wednesday). You've got to get up for the No. 1 team in the state. You can't come out flat."
But there were a number of other factors that contributed to Hempfield's lopsided victory. In addition to the emotion of senior night, the Falcons had gotten the Black Knights' attention on April 6 when they pushed them to the limit before succumbing 15-11, 15-13.
With the win, Hempfield clinched its second consecutive Lancaster-Lebanon Section One crown. The Black Knights, who won PIAA championships in 1997, 1996 and 1994, are now 10-0 in the league and 44-0-1 on the season.
"They're big," said Dyer. "Their middle hitters are 6-3 and 6-4. They're very experienced and they play together. They play excellent defense. They're solid all around, and when they go to their bench the guys coming off it are just as good as the starters."
The Falcons' only highlights came early in the match. In the first game, Cedar Crest led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but Hempfield ran off seven unanswered points, and then six more to win it.
Cedar Crest enjoyed a 1-0 edge in Game 2 before the Black Knights scored the next 14 to open a nearly insurmountable 14-1 advantage. One of the keys for Hempfield was its ability to neutralize Falcon senior star Craig Dietrich.
"I've watched high school volleyball for a couple of years," said Dyer, "and they're the best team I've ever seen. One time during the match I turned to my assistants and said, 'Do you see any holes where we can hit to?' And they said, 'No.'"
Cedar Crest's performance last night was the low point in what could quite possibly be its best season ever. The Falcons, now 10-3 overall and 7-3 in Section One, should finish second in the section to Hempfield.
The Falcons have already qualified for the May 16-18 Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs and by finishing among the top five teams there would make the District Three Tournament, May 23-27.
"This is the best team we've had since I've been here," said Dyer, who's in his third season at the helm. "Losing two matches to Hempfield, those are acceptable losses. Step out of (last night) and I'm real happy with their play.
"If you would've told me at the beginning of the season that we'd finish second in the section, I would've taken it," said Dyer. "With five senior starters, I knew if we were going to do anything that this would be the year."