Hempfield outlasts rival Warwick in five-set thriller to force tie atop L-L League Section 1 volleyball race

It was the type of volleyball match local fans have come to expect when Hempfield and Warwick renew pleasantries.

Tons of action. Bodies flying all over the place for point-saving digs. Clutch blocks above the net. Sizzling serves. Booming kills. You name it.

And as an added bonus, the Black Knights and the host Warriors rewarded Tuesday’s big crowd in Lititz with a fifth and deciding set in a match that featured a little bit of everything.

Hempfield, after a couple of hours of flying bodies, clutch blocks, sizzling serves and booming kills, outlasted Warwick 3-2 in an L-L League Section One showdown — and an instant classic.

Game scores — wait for it — were a wild and crazy 25-20, 18-25, 26-28, 28-26 and 15-12. Hempfield’s thrilling victory forced a tie atop the Section One standings: The Knights (8-2 league, 8-3 overall) now share the top spot with the Warriors (8-2, 9-2) with two matches to play.

“Couldn’t mean more,” said Hempfield libero Brady Rigard, who was a puddle after the match. “Everything was on the line. Our season. Our pride. We put it all on the court and we played Hempfield volleyball above everything else. We knew we had to leave it all on the court, and we did.”

Warwick was a game clear coming into Tuesday’s clash; the Warriors are angling for their third section championship on a row. They finish up next Tuesday against Penn Manor and next Thursday against Manheim Township. Hempfield wraps up Thursday against McCaskey and next Tuesday against Cedar Crest.

The last night of league play is May 9; the top two finishers in both sections advance to the league semifinals. Hempfield beat Warwick in the 2021 finale; the Warriors topped the Knights for gold in 2022. Warwick fell to Manheim Central in last year’s title match.

Warwick never trailed in the second set to force a 1-1 tie, and that’s when things started getting crazy here Tuesday. The Warriors had triple set point in the third before Hempfield rallied valiantly, and it was tied at 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26 before Thomas Mejia’s kill capped the set — and a 2-1 lead — for Warwick.

The fourth set featured 13 ties; the Warriors had a 23-21 lead on Kyle Charles’ kill, but Hempfield got kills from Kena Bekere and Ben Troyer to tie it. The Knights finally snapped the 26-26 knot, getting back-to-back kills from Finley Hunt for a 28-26 win, setting up a fifth set.

It was high drama at Warwick.

“Amazing,” Hempfield coach Kenny Eiser said. “That fourth game was unreal. What we did there late … was just guts. This is what we’ve kind of been waiting for the last couple of years: Winning one that counts. It finally happened here.”

Hempfield got quick kills from Declan Keller and Hunt for a 2-0 lead in the fifth. Later, Spencer Troyer had consecutive kills for the Knights. But Warwick hung tough, and the fifth set featured ties at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 10-10 and 11-11 before Hempfield got kills from Spencer Troyer and Bekere for a 13-11 edge.

Bekere’s thundering kill clinched it for the Knights, who survived — and tied things up in the section race.

“(Hempfield) is a team that came out and played like they really wanted to win,” Warwick coach Foster Lobb said. “It’d hard being the top dog. Pressure is a privilege. Having that target on your back, everyone wants to play you. They had it. And we didn’t have enough of our stuff at the end.”