Volleyball: Davis helps Garnet Valley earn Central League title

LOWER MERION >> Mark Clark continually stresses to his team about winning “one point at a time.” While a simple focal point, the seventh-year Garnet Valley head coach emphasizes to his Jaguars volleyball team, it speaks volumes to the way he directs his program and that mantra was never more prevalent than against a familiar foe Tuesday night in the Central League final.

Garnet Valley broke out to early leads in the first and second sets before closing things out in the fourth on their way to a 3-1 victory over Strath Haven in the Central League title game at Harriton High School. It is Garnet Valley’s third league crown in five years. The Jaguars upended the defending champion Panthers 25-12, 25-20, 13-25 and 25-13.

Jumping out to a 7-0 and 5-0 lead in the first and second set, respectively, the Jaguars were up 2-0 on an opponent they had faced in five of the last six league title games. Garnet Valley never trailed in either set, but its biggest obstacle came in the third set.

After falling behind 15-4, the Panthers rolled to a 12-point set win and Clark knew his team had to go back to what had brought them so much success: taking each point with the same approach.

“They had us down and were crushing us. We didn’t care about the score at that time because we had to build some momentum back up,” Clark said.

Behind a quartet of seniors in Gabby Davis, Julianne Hurley, Sydney Portale and Lizzie Herestofa, the Jaguars (17-2) overcame a sloppy third set and never trailed in a commanding fourth set victory. Davis finished with a team-high 35 assists along with six digs. Hurley tallied six kills and four blocks. Portale recorded 11 kills and an ace while Herestofa had 24 digs and an ace of her own. Davis, a member of Garnet Valley’s 2014 title and 2015 runner-up team, described how her role evolved throughout the season.

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