By Dan McCarty • Posted October 5, 2016

The winning streak continued for the Archbishop Carroll volleyball team when it hosted Bishop McDevitt in Philadelphia Catholic League action Sept. 29. Carroll simply worked together as a team on the way to a 3-0 shutout.

“We play a very good game of volleyball,” said Patriots head coach Brian McCann. “We play the right way. We control the ball very well.”

Carroll emerged victorious by scores of 25-5, 25-9 and 25-2 as it remained undefeated for the season with a 6-0 record in the Catholic League, 7-0 overall. This also marked the Patriots’ fifth Catholic League shutout of the year.

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“Our coach has trained all of us individually,” said Paige Monastero. “Seniors help us get through the game.”

Monastero finished with six service aces and four kills on the evening. Teammates Morgan Silks (24 assists, five service aces) Hannah Wright (20 kills) and Amelia Painter (four assists) also contributed.

The McDevitt Lancers took a quick 2-0 advantage in the opening game but the Patriots fought back immediately. Once they were ahead, 4-3, they held on to the lead for good. McDevitt used its time outs to regr0oup but Carroll’s squad turned out to be an especially tough one.

“They had too much power through their lineup,” said McDevitt head coach Jim Harrigan. “That kept us on our heels.”

Carroll kept building its lead as the game progressed. Holding on to a 20-2 surplus late in the third game, the Patriots were vying to seal the victory right then and there. Although McDevitt had a small chance of mounting a comeback, it used another time out, hoping to make the score tighter.

The Patriots, however, had plenty of energy left and managed to avoid giving up any additional points. Abigail Riehman delivered the last two service aces needed to call it a game.

“It felt pretty good,” said Riehman. “I feel proud of my team. We can keep this winning streak going.”

McDevitt knew it would have a lot of work going into this match considering it was taking on an undefeated team. Nevertheless, the Lancers did not get discouraged.

“We always know that Carroll is one of the top teams,” said Leona Lavong. “We want to have fun.”

Lavong and teammates McKenna Loughney and Colleen McDermott led the way for the Lancers in the match. As tri-captains, they have all helped to set the tone for the team.

“You just have to focus on the good serves and what we did right,” said Loughney.

Prior to taking on McDevitt, Carroll had dominated defending Catholic League champion Archbishop Wood (3-0) for the first time in two years. The Patriots have total confidence that they will end the regular season on a high note.

“I’m very excited,” said Monastero. “We have big supporters.”

McDevitt is also looking to finish strong as the season comes to an end.

“We’re very excited,” said McDermott. “We’ll play our best coming up.”