Vikings Seniors Set the Tone for East

Royersford-After starting the season with three consecutive wins, it has been any thing but smooth sailing as of late for West Chester East as they have been struggling to find their own identity during the rigorous Ches-Mont volleyball season.

Monday night the Vikings ventured north to take on the Spring-Ford Rams despite an outstanding effort by seniors Amanda McAleer (15 digs), Kim Russo and Kendall Walsh (15 assists). The Vikings could not make the shot to get over the hump as they fell 3-0 to the Rams, dropping to 4-4 overall.

“We have hit a little bump in the road,” said Kim Russo, who had 10 digs. “We started great and things have been rough the last week or so, but we have to continue to support each other.  We are more than just a team; we are all friends off the court as well. If we don’t stick up for each other and have each other’s back, we can’t succeed as a team.”

Spring-Ford (3-2 league, 5-3 overall) got out of the gate fast, coasting to a 5-0 lead en route to building a 15-6 edge, but after weathering a flurry by East that cut the lead to five, the Rams reacted like any contender would and kicked it into another gear closing out the game 25-19.

“We had chances tonight,” we just messed up a couple of points each game and it cost us,” said Kendall Walsh. “We can’t get down on each other when we make mistakes; we have to try to keep everybody up. If we get down five points we have to treat it like, 'so what, it’s only a few points.' We also can’t take any points for granted. We need to battle for every one. We took a couple of points off tonight and again it hurt us on the scoreboard.”

East rallied to start the second game as they stormed out to a 5-1 edge, but the game was knotted at five before they knew it after a 15-dig night by Amanda McAleer and 10 digs by Russo of the Rams.

The Vikings fielded everything that Spring-Ford blasted their way as they again snagged the momentum, taking a 12-10 lead in game two before an eight point run by the Rams sealed East’s fate claiming the game 25-20.

 “We have got girls that can play,” said Russo. “We have to focus on every game and not take anything for granted, ever. We have to keep a positive approach and encourage each other. We have a lot of volleyball left to play. It’s our senior year and there is no reason we can’t get into districts, and see where we go from there.”

Maddy Gilligan's six kills and Walsh’s 15 assists were not enough to overcome a Spring-Ford onslaught in game three as the hosts posted a 25-11 win, completing a three game sweep of East.

West Chester East      19            20            11            -0

Spring-Ford                 25            20            25            -3

Time of match 1:26