The Hempfield boys' volleyball team is facing something this year that they haven't had to deal with in recent memory: rebuilding.

Two seniors and a sophomore lead the team in kills - Andrew Yeager, John Poling and Patrick Shawaryn - and setter Randy Paules is just a sophomore as well. The talent is there, albeit inexperienced, which leaves the door wide open for a successor to the throne.

Enter Penn Manor.

The Comets haven't lost a match this year and are ranked seventh in the current Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. Despite losing three starters from a year ago, they still field two of the best hitters in the league in 6-2 1/2 senior Chris Telesco, who will join former Penn Manor star Brian Reinking at Division I St. Francis, Pa. next year, and 6-1 senior Luke Mason. Coach Ric See has taken a very tentative approach to this season.

"We have our goals, but it has nothing to do with predicting how far we'll go," he said. A very smart approach, considering See's teams have consistently been ranked among the state's best over each of the past five years with nothing to show for it due to the extreme local competetion.

Hempfield (5-1 league) is still breathing down Penn Manor's neck in Section One in spite of their losses. If both teams keep winning, the stage will be set for a showdown in Landisville April 23, where the Knights will look to exact revenge for their only loss of the season.

"Clearly (Penn Manor) has a quality team; they're the front-runner," Vogel said. "Realistically, our team will go as far as the talent will take us."

Along with Telesco and Mason, senior setter Adam Van Leer, a three-year starter, and 6-3 middle blocker Derek Ament have provided steady play for the Comets (6-0 league).

"There's no doubt we'll go to districts, but past that ... it's new territory for us," See explained, hesitating for a moment.

"There's a lot of maturity and terrific attitudes that will get us far."

And as the best team in District Three, just another guest appearance will not do.

Here's a look at the rest of the league: SECTION ONE

Cedar Crest: Senior middle hitter Jason Longo has been one of the only bright spots in an otherwise rough year. The Falcons (0-5) lost two key seniors, outside hitters Todd Bradbury and Chad Showers, both three-year starters, and have not been able to recover.!6+

Ephrata: The Mounts (1-4) lost a boatload of talent to graduation last year, including middle blockers Brent Good and Jason Michael, outside hitter Josh Sisco and setter Gabe Luciano. Their lone section win came against winless Cedar Crest.

Manheim Township: The third-ranked Streaks (2-3) lost to top-ranked Hempfield in the state semifinals last year, and this season has not been as successful.

"We're starting to turn things around," coach Bob Kennedy said. "We have a young team and we hope to make it through leagues." Kennedy hasn't given up on this year yet, but he's certainly looking forward to what lies ahead. "We have a couple of 6-6 juniors. The next years are looking good."

McCaskey: "There's a definite improvement (from last year)," Tornado coach Greg Castleman said, which is a good thing, considering they've already eclipsed last year's win total at 1-4. Several eighth and ninth graders are making their way up to varsity, and Castleman should see them, and some more wins, in the next few years.

Warwick: Outside hitter Brandon Swank is the only starter back from last year's district-qualifying team. Despite this, the Warriors are still 4-2 and have an outside shot at a section title.

"We're improving week by week," coach Barry Derrish said. "We could give it a run." Corey Shaffer and Keith Kohler also need to produce if a run is possible.

"If we can keep our focus, we can play with the Penn Manors and Hempfields of the league," Derrish said. SECTION TWO

Cocalico: The defending Section Two champions are having a rough time of it this year. After losing a quintet of starters, the Eagles (1-4) are banking on senior captain Toly Yadlovskiy and senior Vinnie Fiorenza to help add to their single victory in the second half of the season.

Conestoga Valley: Buckskin coach Al Kofroth is very pleased with his team's performance so far this year. "We strutted our stuff," he said of their undefeated first half. Senior Brody Youndt at 6-1 is up with the league leaders in kills, and along with senior Mike Witwer and junior setter Nick Martin, CV (5-0) should keep up its pace. The Bucks will be tested however, with consecutive road matches at Lancaster Mennonite and Garden Spot.

Elizabethtown: The Bears (3-2) are one of four teams that could still win the section. Outside hitters Derrick Wertz and Dave Hunger, along with Ben Sipe, have provided a powerful threesome up front for coach Clark Sheaffer. Their only league losses are to CV and Garden Spot, and they will be ready for the rematches.

Garden Spot: The Spartans (4-1) may be the most surprising team in the league this year. Their lone loss was at Conestoga Valley, and the postseason is well within reach.

"Our goal is to be in the playoffs this year," said coach Steve Good. "Once we hit that goal, we'll set new ones."

Derrick Weaver, a 5-9 outside hitter, and Dave Bender, a 6-0 outside hitter, have more than made up for the losses of outside hitter Mike Hoffert and middle blocker Alan Schoenberger.

"We're well on out way," Good said.

Lancaster Mennonite: If there was any favorite in Section Two, it was the Blazers (2-3), but they've stumbled through the first part of the schedule.

"We have a really decent team," coach Rod Weber said. "We're in a slump now, but we'll make playoffs." The team will need to feed off the confidence of Weber in order to meet his goals.

"(Districts) would be a goal of mine this year," he said.

L-L VOLLEYBALL

The first game was a see-saw battle, with a sluggish and admittedly nervous Manor team trying to keep up with Hempfield's quickness.

"We weren't able to stay focused," Comet coach Ric See said. "They phased in and out psychologically."

After the Knights took a 13-12 lead on an ace by Patrick Shawaryn, Manor was able to side out. Behind timely kills by Derrick Ament, Luke Mason and Chris Telesco, they escaped with Game One.

"They all showed up, especially in the first game," Hempfield coach Mike Vogel said of his young squad. "We were actually in position to win the first game, but that's what a quality team will do. They were in position to win too, and they won it."

Game Two was a different story. The Comets scored the first four points and pushed out to a 12-6 lead. Hempfield was able to cut the lead to three, and with the Knights back in it - not only on the floor, but in the stands as well - See had to call a timeout.

"You just have to talk quietly (in the huddle)," See said. "If it's loud and you talk quietly, they're going to hone in on whatever you're talking about. I gave Adam (Van Leer, Comet setter) a play to run, something to use if he wanted to. I just let them know that they were playing well."

Manor carried See's calm with them out of the time out, thwarting one last run by Hempfield. In the end, the Comets' experience made the difference.

"I've watched this group for three years," Vogel said of his opponents. "This guy Telesco, he's the real deal. That's what you get when you have kids who have played together for a long time. You have six guys who are used to each other. We just haven't played with each other enough yet."

Jarod Staub led Penn Manor with eight kills; Telesco added seven. Mason's five blocks all came at crucial times in the match. Hempfield's Ryan Wood led everyone with 13 kills.

Vogel said last weekend's third-place finish in the prestigious Panther Classic in York was the turning point in their season.

"We're just getting better," he added. "We're young, and in the process of being young - hopefully we can change that in the next few weeks. We're going to run with what we have out there and go from there."

It may have been more of a turning point for Penn Manor, which won the tourney and now has the burden of being No. 1 in the state on its shoulders.

"I think the guys know that everybody's after them now, and they're not used to that," See said.

Even with their sweep of Hempfield, there's still work to be done if the Comets are to win their first-ever section title. Next up in the league is Manheim Township in their final home match.

"We demolished them last year at their senior recognition match," See said. "This year we play them on our senior recoginition night. I'm sure they remember that."

"The section title is not ours until I say it is," he chuckled.

When Penn Manor senior outside hitter Luke Mason bounced his first kill in the middle of the court on the opening point of the match, it looked like it could be another long day for Hempfield.

This is the fourth time Manor has beaten Hempfield this season, but no previous win has been this convincing.

"We didn't do anything different," said Comet senior OH Chris Telesco, sticking to the same theme the team has been using all year. "We just went out and played how we could. We didn't do it in the (semifinal) match. We came out, did whatever we could, and won."

In that semifinal match, Manor struggled, but beat Manheim Township, 16-14, 15-11.

"The last time we played Township in a hot gym, it was a close match," Comet coach Ric See explained. "We also may be a little bit intimidated by their size."

Intimidated was something they certainly were not against the Knights, who never led in the final.

With the score tied 7-7 in the first game, Telesco angled a kill to the near side and Derrick Ament then blocked Knight senior outside hitter John Poling for a point. Hempfield would never threaten again.

"I can't complain," Knights coach Mike Vogel said. "They're a quality team. The only setbacks we've had over the past couple weeks have been against these guys."

Mason led the Comets with nine kills. Telesco had seven, senior OH Derrick Ament added six, and juniors Jarod Staub and Will Koenig threw in five each. Telesco also had a match-high six blocks.

For Hempfield, junior OH Ryan Wood smacked 11 kills. Poling finished with six and sophomores Derek Shultz and Pat Shawaryn had four each. Wood and freshman Matt Baker each had an ace as well.

"We're rivals, so this was a big match," Mason said."We were really pumped up."

"They are devastated," Vogel said of his team. "They have no reason to be devastated. They've had a great season; it will continue on."

Now focus shifts to the District Three tournament, which begins May 19.

"We have to make some adjustments. We'll keep improving," Vogel added. "Our last easy match was against E-town (last Thursday). That's it. There will not be another easy match from here on out. But that goes for Penn Manor, too."

The Comets will host the fifth-place team from the YAIAA - either New Oxford or West York.

"Our fans are going to be crazy," said Telesco. "Any team from York, though, is going to be tough. We're going to go out there and try to play like we did tonight."

Hempfield will face the fourth-place team from the Berks County League, whose postseason tournament is this week. Manheim Township, which beat Conestoga Valley in the L-L third-place match, 20-18, 15-12, will face the Mid-Penn Conference's second-place team, as yet to be determined. CV will face the Berks champion, and Warwick will get the YAIAA champion - either Central York or Spring Grove, by virtue of their 16-18, 15-8, 15-10 win over Garden Spot in the L-L's fifth-place match.

"People have a funny way of getting pumped for districts," See said. "It's like "If you win this, that erases all of your mistakes."'