Landon Mattiace does this thing where he bounces the volleyball off the back wall before he steps up to the line to uncork a serve.
Unless you’re paying close attention, you probably wouldn’t even notice it.
Home matches. Road matches. Neutral-court matches. Anywhere and everywhere. It’s a habit at this point. A superstition to be sure.
“I did it one game earlier this season as like a joke,” Manheim Central’s dominant middle hitter said. “And then it became a ritual. I do it every single time I’m at the service line. You could say it’s for good luck.”
In Thursday’s District 3 Class 2A championship match, Mattiace didn’t need any luck. He absolutely delivered, doing his pre-serve routine for seven straight second-set points to spark the Barons, and host Central went on to blank York Suburban 3-0 in Derbyshire Gymnasium.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-17 and 25-19, as the top-seeded Barons polished off a perfect run through the district bracket, and Central hoisted gold for the second time — the first since 2019, also over Suburban.
The Barons were in a district title match for the sixth time, and they clicked on all cylinders against the second-seeded Trojans, who were denied a second crown of their own.
“We have a very special group,” Central coach Craig Dietrich said. “They do all the little things well. Big-time players. So, this one is very satisfying. Our kids were so focused. I really didn’t even need to say anything.”
Manheim Central’s Colin Rohrer (11) and the rest of the team celebrate after beating York Suburban 3-0 to win the District 3 class 2A boys volleyball championship at Manheim Central’s George Derbyshire Gymnasium in Manheim on Thursday May 29, 2025.
Central fell to Exeter in last year’s district finale, and that motivated the Barons to not only get back, but to finish the job this time around.
Mission accomplished — and convincingly.
Central (20-1) didn’t drop a set in its three matches. Suburban made the Barons sweat it out in the opening set. But Central only trailed four times in all and flashed its patented balance — and quick-strike offensive attack — against the Trojans.
“Feels amazing,” Mattiace said. “Now, on to states.”
Up next for the Barons is the PIAA opener on Tuesday. Central will host District 12 runner-up Academy of Palumbo at 7 p.m. Win there, and it would be off to the state quarterfinals next Saturday.
Central and Suburban could potentially meet in the state semifinals; the Barons went all the way to the PIAA championship match at Penn State last spring but fell to Meadville. Those two are on a collision course for a rematch.
Central is anxious for another journey to Happy Valley.
Pretty much everything went right for the Barons against Suburban. Dylan Musser had five aces — two that clipped off the top of the net and fell — and six setter-dump kills, which are a lot.
Suburban was within 23-21 and 24-22 late in the first set, but Blake Neiles and Mattiace had kills and Musser closed it out with a kill for a 1-0 lead.
“It was a momentum-shifter right away,” Mattiace said. “It’s been a while — six years — since we won districts. There were definitely some nerves coming in. So to win the first one there lifted so much off of our backs.”
The key moment in the match was in the second set, when Mattiace served up seven straight points after seven consecutive bank shots off the back wall. Mattiace didn’t have any aces during the spree, but Musser had two blocks and two setter-dump shots, and Reagan Miller’s block gave the Barons a 15-6 lead.
“It’s big because you need all of your teammates to come through to get a win,” Miller said. “For Landon to get all seven points serving there, it made it easier for everyone else.”
“We’ve gone on some uncanny runs with his serves,” Dietrich said about Mattiace. “He was certainly great from the service line tonight.”
Central kept tacking on after Mattiace’s service run was halted; Miller (11 kills, 11 digs) had a thunderous kill and Musser (34 assists) had back-to-back aces to cap an 11-1 run for an 18-7 cushion.
Suburban hung tough in the third; the Trojans were within 23-18 late, but the Barons slammed the door. Mattiace (10 kills) did the honors; his kill set up match point, and his block capped it.
Colin Rohrer sparked Central’s defensive effort with 18 digs, and Weston Longenecker (eight kills, nine digs) and Caleb Groff (five kills, eight digs) had clutch kills in key moments for the Barons, who won the Section 2 title for the third year in a row before falling to Cedar Crest in the L-L League title match.
But the district gold trophy is heading for the case in Central’s gym lobby.
“This is big, but it’s not the ultimate goal,” Miller said. “We have states next, and that’s going to be ride. It’s not going to be easy, so we’ll be looking to work together as a team. It’s not going to happen with one guy. We’ll need everybody on the court. Winning a state championship won’t be easy. But we’ll trust in each other and see what happens.”
X: @JeffReinhart77
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