TodayA clean sweep for Northern
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Jason Malmont/The Sentinel
Northern was able to sweep three straight games from Lower Dauphin Tuesday night.
DILLSBURG — After three seasons of improvements, the Northern boys’ volleyball team finds itself in a great position for a memorable season.
Three weeks into their 2008 campaign, the Polar Bears are ranked fourth in the state in Class AA by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association.
With its 3-0 (25-21, 25-22 and 25-17) win over Lower Dauphin Tuesday night, Northern sits at 2-0 in the Mid-Penn Keystone division (2-2 overall).
“It’s still tough,” said Polar Bears head coach Loretta Ranck of being a Class AA school in a conference dominated by Class AAA opponents. “It doesn’t matter. It’s though every night. Look at Lower Dauphin, they still dig the ball up. Even though they don’t have a real flowing offense, they still have a big kid in the middle. We’re not that tall, so when we run against a big middle like Eugene (Prymak and his seven blocks) its hard.”
Northern is in this position thanks to a roster full of returning starters, many with at least three years of experience — any one of them capable of taking control of a match, yet alone a game.
“(We) play pretty well together as far as their teamwork,” said Ranck. “They communicate a lot. A lot of times, if we have a missed pass, then someone is there to set it for someone else to put it away. Usually we have a pretty good (offensive) flow. I mean that we know if the ball does not go to the setter, everyone else knows where the hitters are.”
Tuesday, senior Jed Renshaw stepped up with a game-high 17 kills, five digs, four blocks and two aces to lead the Polar Bears.
“Jed had a great night,” said Ranck. “He switches between playing middle and opposite depending on the teams we’re playing. We knew he didn’t have a real big block out there. (Chad Smeltz) is like that for (Lower Dauphin). If you don’t have a block on him he can put it away. We had Jed out there and he got him a couple times.”
Renshaw was asked to fill in for injured opposite Gibby Bamberger and, since the Falcons keyed in on outside hitter Seth Gladfelter (10 kills, 28 digs and one ace) and middle Derrick Garman (eight kills, three digs, 4 blocks and one ace), the opposite side had a single blocker and no block for Renshaw. Nathan Brouse served up 28 assists (five digs and two blocks) to those big hitters.
“Because we have a lot of guys that can hit even if we don’t get a great pass, we still have an option,” said Ranck. “Its not like we’re always putting a free ball over the net.”
Renshaw took control in the first game, with Northern trailing 11-12.
In a six-point Polar Bear run, Renshaw tallied four kills on his own. That run put Lower Dauphin in a hole it was unable to get out of, ultimately falling 25-21.
In the next game, Renshaw put the Falcons away with two crucial kills for Northern — points 24 and 25 — in the 25-22 victory.
And in the final game, he scored three of the Polar Bears’ final five points for the 25-17 win.
While Renshaw led the charge, Tuesday’s win showcased the balance Northern needs to contend for the Keystone division title.
“They knew they had to pick it up,” said Ranck. “We don’t want to lose any games in our division. It’s possible with Red Land and Hershey. But we don’t want to drop a division game. They want one of those little banners. We don’t have one volleyball banner in this gym, there is not a single one.”
Thursday, the Polar Bears take on division foe Hershey (3-0 Keystone and 5-2 overall).
