The Lancaster-Lebanon League boys volleyball regular season is tucked neatly away in the archives.
Cedar Crest and Manheim Central won outright section championships. And the Falcons, Barons, Warwick and Cocalico are the league’s semifinalists.
That fearsome foursome will be in action Monday, when Manheim Central hosts the Final Four. Cedar Crest will take on Cocalico at 5 p.m., with the host Barons squaring off against Warwick in the nightcap at The Derb.
Those winners will play for L-L gold on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Ephrata Middle School.
Here’s a Final Four preview, plus plenty of news and notables as the volleyball season shifts into playoff mode. Get your brackets ready and sharpen those pencils …
FALCONS, EAGLES SET TO TAKE FLIGHT
Monday’s opener features two teams riding some momentum.
Cedar Crest (11-1 L-L, 16-2 overall) is coming off its first section championship in program history, and the Falcons, under coach Monica Sheaffer, will begin the week at No. 8 in the PVCA-3A state rankings, and they finished at No. 3 in the District 3 Class 3A power ratings.
Cocalico, with coach Dwayne Kieffer calling the shots, is riding a five-match winning streak, and the Eagles’ lone losses this spring are against undefeated Manheim Central in section showdowns, as Cocalico (12-2, 16-2) finished alone in second place.
The Eagles did hand Manheim Central its lone set loss this spring.
Conestoga Valley stuck around until the bitter end, but the Eagles took care of business, bouncing the Buckskins on the last night of league play to cement second place, and knock CV out of the D3-3A hunt.
Cocalico, which is at No. 10 in the D3-3A power ratings — remember, the Eagles are up from 2A this spring — is back in the L-L playoffs for the second straight year; Cocalico fell to Warwick in the semifinals last spring.
Cedar Crest’s two setbacks came against Warwick in a highly entertaining, five-set section clash last month, and against unbeaten Manheim Central in a nonleague showdown in April.
Was that an L-L finals preview perhaps? We shall see.
Keep an eye on Cedar Crest’s Jack Wolgemuth, a Saint Francis University recruit who can jump out of the gym and finish at the pins. The former setter and defensive specialist — and four-year starter — has molded himself into one of the top hitters in the district.
Vet swingers Aidan Vukovich and Tate Tadajweski join Wolgemuth up front to give the Falcons an athletic, imposing front row. Ryder Rohrer has been setting those guys quite well this spring.
Cocalico counters with punishing hitter Colson Hildebrand, who has 10-plus kills in the last five matches in a row, including 14 in a win over Ephrata in the Backyard Brawl earlier this month.
Set artist Jacob Wambolt steers the Eagles’ attack, and Reilly Stark is another front-row bomber to watch.
BARONS, WARRIORS RENEW RIVALRY
If this matchup sounds familiar, it should.
Manheim Central and Warwick have squared off in the last two L-L championship matches, and the Barons won both of them, for their only two league crowns.
They’re going for a three-peat in the L-L bracket.
Warwick, under coach Foster Lobb, a former Warriors’ standout, is no stranger to the L-L playoffs; Warwick has been in the last five league title matches, with a crown in 2022 — before back-to-back setbacks against the Barons.
The backyard rivals will clash in the semifinals this time around.
The Warriors (10-2, 10-2) went into the league finale at Hempfield last Thursday in a first-place tie with Cedar Crest. Warwick dropped a 3-1 decision to the Black Knights, giving the Falcons the outright crown and the Warriors solo second — snapping their run of three straight section titles.
Warwick’s other loss was against Cedar Crest back in March.
Warwick is at No. 4 in the D3-3A power ratings, and will open the week at No. 6 in the PVCA-3A state rankings.
Manheim Central (14-0, 16-0) is fresh off its third straight Section 2 conquest, and the Barons have won 38 league matches in a row.
Manheim Central is one of three undefeated squads in all of District 3 — joining 3A heavyweights Cumberland Valley (14-0) and Governor Mifflin (14-0) — and coach Craig Dietrich’s team will be the top seed in the D3-2A bracket, and they’re at No. 2 in the PVCA-2A state rankings.
The Barons reached but fell in the D3 (to Exeter) and PIAA (to Meadville) championship matches last spring. So Manheim Central is looking to clear those hurdles this time around.
Exeter has since bumped up to 3A; Meadville has been on the PVCA 1-line in 2A since March.
Dylan Musser makes the Barons tick. The trusty setter recently surpassed 2,200 career assists — that’s a pretty crazy number — and he has veteran swingers Reagan Miller and Landon Mattiace, an Eastern University recruit, at his disposal.
Warwick power hitter Thomas Mejia can finish with the best of them in the front row. He hammered out 20 kills in the Warriors’ riveting 3-2 win over Cedar Crest last month.
Two active liberos to keep an eye on in this match, as Manheim Central’s Colin Rohrer and Warwick’s Brenin Buckwalter can both cover a lot of ground in the back.
L-L LEAGUE BOYS VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS, BOX SCORES, SCHEDULES
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DISTRICT 3 LOWDOWN
Nothing becomes official until Thursday, but it appears eight L-L teams will get D3 playoff invitations, five in 3A and three in 2A.
According to the latest power ratings, all of the district squads have finished their regular season schedules, so there shouldn’t be any changes prior to the deadline.
If the ratings do indeed hold, in 3A, Cedar Crest (No. 3, hosting No. 14 Dallastown), Warwick (No. 4, hosting No. 13 Northeastern York), Hempfield (No. 9 at No. 8 Mechanicsburg), Cocalico (No. 10 at No. 7 Central Dauphin) and Penn Manor (No. 16 at No. 1 Cumberland Valley) would play first-round matches on May 20.
And in 2A, Manheim Central would be the top seed and earn a first-round bye, with the Barons hosting the winner of No. 9 Northern Lebanon at No. 8 Trinity on May 20. Also that night, No. 5 Lancaster Mennonite would welcome No. 12 New Covenant Christian.
Linville Hill Christian, situated in Gap, is poised to be No. 4, and host No. 13 Hershey in the first round.
DISTRICT 3 BOYS VOLLEYBALL POWER RATINGS
PVCA BOYS VOLLEYBALL STATE RANKINGS
TOP PERFORMERS
* In three wins last week, Cedar Crest setter Ryder Rohrer had 26 assists against Lower Dauphin, 24 assists against Ephrata, and 29 assists against Elizabethtown. He’s been an extremely accurate set-up artist, and having finishers like the aforementioned Jack Wolgemuth, Aidan Vukovich and Tate Tadajewski at the ready has been a huge bonus.
* Speaking of assists … Manheim Central’s Dylan Musser has 2,200-plus of those in his career, including 35 assists in a win over York Suburban, 21 assists (plus a pair of aces) in a victory over McCaskey, and 19 assists — plus seven kills, four aces and two blocks — in a dub over Lebanon last week. A lot of eyes on Musser as the Barons chase league, district and state titles.
* Mentioned earlier about Cocalico hitter Colson Hildebrand, who has 10-plus kills in the Eagles’ last five matches — all victories. That includes 13 kills in a win over Garden Spot and 10 kills and a trio of aces in a W over Conestoga Valley last week. Jacob Wambolt teed up 61 assists in those matches, including 31 against Garden Spot.
* Speaking of Garden Spot … the Spartans were the only winless team in league play this spring, and they only mustered two victories overall in a retooling season of sorts in New Holland. In last Monday’s nonleague win against Eastern York, Aiden Mininger set up 31 assists, and German exchange student Tom Kahle slammed 10 kills for Garden Spot, which got to taste some much-needed success heading into the offseason.
* Two Lancaster Mennonite stalwarts to mention: Jackson Harbaugh had 14 digs, 10 kills and three blocks in a non-con victory over Avon Grove, and Lukas Muenstermann had 41 assists against AG, he had 14 assists, two blocks and two aces against Conestoga Valley, and he capped the week with 32 assists against McCaskey, as the Blazers now prep for the D3-2A playoffs.
* Northern Lebanon capped its first ride through Section 2 play with wins over Lebanon and Garden Spot last week. Sam Kolacek, an Elizabethtown College commit, waffled 14 kills with three blocks and two aces against Lebanon, and Carter Kubica had 30 assists against the Cedars, and he teed up 24 assists against Garden Spot, as Northern Lebanon locked up a D3-2A bid.
* A terrific final week for E-town hitter Cooper Torborg: 10 kills and a pair of aces against Palmyra; 10 kills and nine digs against Hempfield; and 14 kills against Cedar Crest for the Bears’ finisher.
* It looks like Penn Manor will indeed snag the 16th and final seed in the D3-3A bracket, after the Comets went 1-1 last week. Harry Whited slammed 15 kills with two aces against Warwick; Reece Andreychek had 29 assists against Warwick and then 34 assists against Manheim Township; and Jason Osman uncorked 15 kills against the Blue Streaks as Penn Manor went 4-1 down the stretch to make this postseason push.
* Hempfield’s George Agadis unleashed 20 kills with five blocks in the Black Knights’ win over Warwick in the regular season finale — which gave Cedar Crest the outright Section 1 title.
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