Font ResizeMaybe she had given her Eastern York volleyball team too much information about Wyomissing -- the team that got the best of the Golden Knights twice in District 3 Class AA pool play at Dallastown.
The Spartans had yet to win a game Monday night when they beat Eastern, 25-11, 25-23, 19-25, and forced a three-way playoff.
Much to the chagrin of Eastern, Wyomissing cruised against Shippensburg in the first playoff game to force one more game against the Golden Knights for the right to advance to the Class AA quarterfinals.
Wyomissing didn't blink, using good serves and a tremendous outside hitting game to beat Eastern, 25-23.
"Their serving was tough," Thompson said. "In (the final playoff game) their serving and receiving were better. We waited too late to start bringing on the heat."
Wyomissing was the second team to advance out of pool play at Dallastown on Monday night, as Dover ran the gamut, beating all three teams to easily take the top spot.
The Eagles will face Greencastle on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Lower Dauphin the quarterfinals. Wyomissing has the task of facing Susquehannock at Northern York the same night.
The semifinals and finals will be held Saturday at Central York.
Dover wrapped up its night early Monday, as it didn't drop a game behind Sammie Strausbaugh.
The sophomore was unstoppable, finishing pool play with 22 aces, 24 kills, 20 blocks, 34 assists, and 41 digs.
"They started slow tonight," Dover co-coach Bobbi Strausbaugh said. "But the fact that they regrouped and played so well really shows you the type of team we have."
The other YAIAA team didn't fare as well, despite two opportunities to advance. Eastern had played well up to its third and final pool-play match against Wyomissing.
Despite an opening-round loss to top-seeded Dover in the first round, Eastern rebounded in the second round and whipped through an easy three-game win against Shippensburg.
The Golden Knights controlled their district tournament destiny in the third round, needing a win over Wyomissing.
However, there was something about Wyomissing that confused the Golden Knights, which went back to Thompson's second-guessing.
"We knew about their first three servers and we knew about their good outside hitter," Thompson said. "Maybe we gave (the girls) too much information.
"We're all trying to do the same thing out there. Keep it relatively simple because it all comes down to who executes it better and we didn't execute well tonight."
Too much information may have led to too much over-thinking on Eastern's side of the court, where split-second decisions can make or break a game.
The Golden Knights' decisions Monday night did nothing but break their chances against Wyomissing, as they couldn't overcome slow starts in games.
By the time Eastern finally found its groove and started setting the ball to Kelci Scannapieco in the middle of the court, it was too late.
"We're young," Thompson said. "I don't like to use that as an excuse, but we did not make good choices tonight and it's all about making choices in an instant, a fraction of a second, and that comes with experience, and we have it, but we don't have it yet."
Pool D
at Dallastown
Dover def. Eastern York, 25-14, 25-22, 25-15
Shippensburg def. Wyomissing, 25-17, 27-25, 25-20
Dover def. Wyomissing, 25-19, 25-13, 25-12
Eastern York def. Shippensburg, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17
Dover def. Shippensburg, 25-14, 25-19, 25-19
Wyomissing def. Eastern York, 25-11, 25-23, 19-25
Standings: Dover 3-0 (9-0), Eastern York 1-2 (4-5), Shippensburg (3-6), Wyomissing 1-2 (2-7)
First tiebreaker: Wyomissing 25, Shippensburg 21
Final tiebreaker: Wyomissing 25, Eastern York 23
Dover cumulative stats -- Sammie Strausbaugh (22 aces, 24 kills, 20 blocks, 34 assists, 41 digs), Casie Strausbaugh (4 aces, 17 kills, 1 block, 20 assists, 57 digs), Monica Rubritz (2 aces, 9 kills, 3 blocks, 11 assists, 49 digs), Courtney Funk (31 kills, 1 block, 3 assists, 12 digs), Kaila Funk (7 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs), Katelyn Owens (4 aces, 12 kills, 6 blocks, 1 dig), Erin Powers (3 aces, 2 kills, 37 assists, 19 digs), Melissa Rubritz (2 aces, 1 assist, 92 digs).
Eastern York cumulative stats -- Kelci Scannapieco (17 assists, 43 digs, 31 kills, 10 blocks, 11 aces), Alexis Rhein (54 assists, 29 digs, 15 kills, 4 blocks), Lindsey Arnold (38 assists, 27 digs, 20 kills, 2 aces), Abby Brate (37 digs, 11 aces); Morgan DeRemer (10 assists, 35 digs, 23 kills, 27 blocks, 3 aces), Liz Myers (8 kills, 11 blocks, 3 digs).
