Hempfield wins over Cedar Crest in L-L League Section 1 volleyball clash

LEBANON — It’s safe to say basketball is Ben Troyer’s “A” sport.

Hempfield’s senior was a 1,000-point scorer and a multiple all-star performer for the Black Knights, and he’ll continue his hoops career at York College.

At the urging of his family, Troyer trotted out for Hempfield’s boys volleyball team this spring.

“My dad played volleyball when he was my age,” said Troyer, whose previous volleyball experience before this spring was hitting the ball around in the backyard. “He’s always been kind of harping on me to give it a try. I don’t have AAU basketball anymore, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

Smart move.

Troyer has gone from varsity volleyball novice to key-cog front-row contributor for the Knights, and he let it rip Tuesday night.

Facing a must-win situation to remain atop the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 standings and punch its ticket to the league playoffs, Hempfield rode Troyer’s powerful swing to a clutch 3-0 win over host Cedar Crest.

Game scores were 25-21, 25-21, 25-23, and the Knights have now done all they can do in league play this season. Hempfield wrapped up its section slate with a 10-2 record, percentage points ahead of Warwick, which is at 9-2 after topping Penn Manor 3-1 on Tuesday.

Cedar Crest vs. Hempfield - L-L League boys volleyball [photos]

The Warriors finish up at home Thursday against Manheim Township, needing a win to force a tie for the section championship. Either way, Hempfield and Warwick will rep Section 1 in the league semifinals on May 13.

Cedar Crest, which was in the race right down to the wire, and needed a win here Tuesday to stay in the chase, dipped to 7-4 and will miss the league playoffs after going last year.

They were ultimately ousted by a Hempfield team that covered all angles of the court, won a majority of the must-have, marathon points, and defended splendidly.

“They knew us, they read us, and they played a phenomenal game,” Cedar Crest coach Monica Sheaffer said, tipping her cap to the Knights.

Troyer’s above-the-net damage against the Falcons included 18 high-flying kills, most of them of the right-handed variety, his natural hitting hand. Troyer, flashing some serious ups and athleticism in the middle, also dropped in a couple of left-handed kills, adjusting mid-air to unleash a spike or a perfectly placed drop shot time and time again.

“He did great,” Sheaffer marveled. “He killed us with the power dinks.”

With plenty of power spikes mixed in there, too.

“I told him we’re going to try and get him a better status as a volleyball player than he is a basketball player,” Hempfield coach Kenny Eiser said. “We’ll see if he can do it. He’s been huge. Unstoppable. He can get in the air and hang there forever.”

Boys' basketball

Ben Troyer joins 1,000-point club as Hempfield falls to Chambersburg in boys basketball [video]

JASON GUARENTE | Staff Writer

Troyer had kills to cap the first set and again to finish off the second set. He had five kills in each of the first two sets, and then teed off on eight kills in the clincher, including one of those left-handed dink shots for a 24-20 lead and match point.

Brady Rigard had 27 digs and Marcel Boyreau and Mitchell Orth had 23 assists apiece for Hempfield, which will make a return trip to the league playoffs after missing out for the first time ever last spring.

Let the record show that Cedar Crest — needing a win for any hope in the section race — played its guts out. The Falcons had it knotted up at 14-14 in the first set, and had a 15-14 lead in the second set on Aaron Walters’ blistering kill.

Walters had 12 kills, Kody Kerkeslager had 21 assists and Tyler Hackleman had 14 digs for Cedar Crest, which wraps up Thursday against Conestoga Valley before embarking on the District 3 Class 3A playoffs.

Tuesday’s third set was tight. The Falcons tied it up at 19-19 on Kerkeslager’s kill. But Hempfield found another gear. Kena Bekere got the final run started with a kill, and the Knights had a 20-19 lead on Kel Trautenbach’s slam. Troyer and Finley Hunt alternated kills down the stretch, with Hunt’s slam capping the wildly entertaining match.

“All we can do now is be ready for our next match, whoever that is,” Troyer said. “We have to get back in the gym and get better.”