JEFF REINHART | Sports WriterAnd down the stretch they come in Lancaster-Lebanon League boys volleyball action for the 2024 regular season.
Manheim Central has already put the Section 2 title under lock and key. But it will be a must-see sprint to the finish line for the Section 2 runner-up spot, and especially for the Section 1 championship, which has three teams in the running at the start of the final week of league play.
The top two finishers in each section qualify for the league semifinals.
Buckle up. Be ready for anything. And keep your tiebreaker criteria list handy for good measure.
MAKING SENSE OF SECTION 1
The contenders: Hempfield (9-2 league) leads Warwick (8-2) by mere percentage points, and Cedar Crest (7-3) is alive and kicking. The Falcons face two crucial, must-win matches this week to stay in line to make a return trip to the league playoffs.
A friendly reminder here that Hempfield missed the league tournament for the first time ever — yep, ever — last spring. Plenty of motivation in Hempfield’s huddle.
Chase pack: Penn Manor (6-4), Conestoga Valley (3-7), Manheim Township (3-7), McCaskey (0-11). The Comets, Buckskins and Blue Streaks can all play spoiler at the wire.
The schedule: Hang a star next to Tuesday’s showdown, when Cedar Crest welcomes Hempfield, which will play its final section match that night in Lebanon. The Falcons outlasted the Black Knights 3-2 — with a heart-pounding 19-17 win in the fifth set to finally cap it — back on April 11 in Landisville.
Aidan Vukovich (21 kills), Jack Wolgemuth (22 digs) and Kody Kerkeslager (48 assists) all came up big for Cedar Crest in Round 1 vs. Hempfield.
Also Tuesday, Warwick visits Penn Manor; the Warriors got 21 kills from Saint Francis recruit Kyle Charles and clipped the Comets 3-0 back on April 11 in Lititz. There will be plenty of scenarios swirling for the rematch — with the Warwick folks eagerly awaiting the Crest-Hempfield final.
On the last night of league play on Thursday, Cedar Crest will travel to Conestoga Valley, and Warwick will welcome Manheim Township. Back on April 16, the Falcons got 24 digs from Wolgemuth and 35 assists from Kerkeslager and beat the Buckskins 3-0 in Lebanon, and the Warriors blanked the Streaks 3-0 in Neffsville as Charlies drilled 19 kills.
If there is a tie for first place at the tape, those teams will be dubbed co-champs, and the No. 1 seed for the league playoffs will be settled by District 3 power rating. If there is a tie for second place, the playoff seed will be determined by district power rating.
By the way, Cedar Crest has one more nonleague match — Monday against Class 3A No. 15 Palmyra — on its ledger, so the Falcons have three shots to improve their power rating this week. They might need it, pending everybody’s final results.
The Section 1 race has been nothing short of draw-dropping from the jump; nobody should be surprised that the race will come down to the last night of league play.
L-L LEAGUE BOYS VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS, SCHEDULES, BOX SCORES
SECTION 2 SCENARIOS
The champ: Manheim Central (10-0) has successfully defended its section crown, and the Barons will go for their second straight undefeated run through league play on Tuesday at Lebanon and Thursday at home against Garden Spot.
Manheim Central has yet to drop a set in league play this spring; the Barons are simply scorching.
Race for second place: Cocalico (8-2) is in the driver’s seat for the runner-up slot and a league playoff bid. But the Eagles have company.
Still chasing: Elizabethtown (6-4), Lancaster Mennonite (6-5), Ephrata (4-7), Garden Spot (2-8), Lebanon (0-10).
Matches to circle: Cocalico scarfs up second place with two victories, and the Eagles will host backyard rival Ephrata on Tuesday and then play at E-town to wrap it up Thursday.
The Bears are at Garden Spot on Tuesday before Cocalico comes calling in the finale. The Eagles had 3-0 victories over Ephrata (thanks to 11 kills from Colson Hildebrand) and E-town (behind 10 kills from Yohanis Hildebrand) the first time around back in April.
Bottom line: E-town needs to go 2-0 and Cocalico needs to go 0-2 for a second-place tie. If that scenario pans out, it would come down to District 3 power rating for the league playoff invite. So there’s still some work to do in Section 2.
The league semifinals are set for May 13 with a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. with the Section 1 champ hosting. Those winners will play for league gold on May 15 at 7 p.m. at Manheim Township.
Manheim Central topped Warwick in last year’s finale; the Warriors are angling for their fourth trip in a row to the league’s title match.
The Barons will start the week as the only L-L League team in the PVCA state rankings; Manheim Central is at No. 2 in Class 2A, behind No. 1 Exeter and in front of No. 3 Lower Dauphin, the 3-time reigning PIAA-2A state champ.
That should make for a juicy D3-2A tournament later this month. Stay tuned.
PVCA BOYS VOLLEYBALL STATE RANKINGS
KNIGHTS MAKE TRIP TO HAPPY VALLEY
Hempfield trekked it to Centre County on Saturday to play in the State College Invitational, which featured a deep field and multiple state-ranked teams.
The Knights did not reach the championship bracket.
In the first round of pool play, Hempfield went 4-2 against Carlisle, Lower Dauphin and Governor Mifflin. After a re-seed, the Knights went 1-4 against Meadville (No. 5 PVCA-2A), Central Dauphin and Norwin.
In the championship bracket, Carlisle (No. 9 PVCA-3A) beat Northeastern York and Cumberland Valley (No. 7 PVCA-3A) topped North Allegheny (No. 2 PVCA-3A).
Cumberland Valley then beat Carlisle in an all-Mid-Penn Commonwealth finale.
DISTRICT 3 UPDATE
Four L-L League teams are comfortably inside the 14-team Class 3A bubble with Warwick at No. 3, Hempfield at No. 6, Cedar Crest at No. 8 and Penn Manor at No. 12.
As mentioned, Warwick will play Penn Manor and Cedar Crest will take on Hempfield this week, so those seeds could get a facelift. Stay tuned.
Manheim Township (No. 16) and E-town (No. 17) need fast finishes and help to crash the party.
Three L-L League teams are A-OK inside the 12-team Class 2A field with Manheim Central at No. 3, Cocalico at No. 6 and Lancaster Mennonite at No. 8.
Also in for now: Linville Hill Christian (No. 10) out of the Commonwealth Christian Athletic Conference, and independent Northern Lebanon (No. 12), which will join the L-L League full-time in 2025.
The district playoffs get started May 21.
DISTRICT 3 BOYS VOLLEYBALL POWER RATINGS
Manheim Central (10-0), Exeter (18-0) and Class 3A No. 1 Central York (11-0) are the only undefeated teams in District 3.
The Barons play their lone nonleague match on Monday against Class 2A No. 11 and old postseason foe York Suburban.
Speaking of the CCAC, Linville Hill (9-1 league) and West Shore Christian (7-1; No. 9 in Class 2A) are duking it out for conference supremacy, with Hinkletown Mennonite (4-4) and New Covenant Christian (4-4) in spoiler mode.
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