Barons Drop Mounts

For Manheim Central’s boys volleyball team, it’s all about trusting the process.

Doing things the right way. Practicing hard. Playing matches even harder. And winning.

The Barons are taking that motto quite seriously: They have “trust the process” printed on the back of their warmup shirts.

“It’s the process of how they learn and what we’re teaching them in practice,” Manheim Central coach Craig Dietrich said. “It sounds kind of silly, but to be successful you have to do everything right in practice, and hope it translates into the games. If everybody does their job on the court, everyone is in synergy together. I think it’s working for us.”

Big time.

Manheim Central roared to 5-0 in Lancaster- Lebanon League Section Two play on Tuesday night, dropping defending section champ Ephrata 3-0 in Manheim. Game scores were 25-11, 25-6 and 25-10. The Mountaineers, who dipped to 0-4 in section play, never led, and there were two ties in the entire match — 1-1 and 2-2 in the first game.

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Ephrata Girls Start Strong

Ephrata’s Jennie Young picked up speed as she hit the turn of the 200-meter dash Monday at Eagle Stadium in Denver. The clouds that brought morning showers had broken, and a late-afternoon sun sent a mid-season warmth to the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two track and field opener between the Mountaineers and host Cocalico.

“You kind of expect the beginning to be a little cold,” Young said, “but there wasn’t much wind, so it felt good to come down that stretch.”

Young shot through the second half of the 200, finishing at 25.6 seconds to collect her second individual victory of the day. Ephrata’s Kyra Horst (28.5) and Olamide Fatusin took second and third place in the 200 to help Mounts along their way to a 113-37 team victory over their backyard rivals.

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Eagles get by Mounts

Will there be a changing of the guard in Lancaster- Lebanon League Section Two boys volleyball this spring?

It’s the last week of March, and there’s a long, long way to go. But it’s certainly a distinct possibility, especially with stateranked Manheim Central lurking.

Ephrata steamrolled to the Section Two title last season, but the Mountaineers didn’t quite get off to the start they were hoping for on Tuesday night when they opened defense of their championship.

Cocalico spotted the host Mountaineers the first game, and then rattled off three games in a row for a 3-1 win over the defending section champs in the section opener for both squads. Game scores were 24-26, 25-17, 2513 and 25-18.

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Mounts win District 3 Title

READING — Matt McGillan found out Wednesday night at practice he would be handed the ball for Ephrata's first appearance in a district title game.

“He's a senior," Mountaineers skipper Adrian Shelley said. "He's earned it."

With the aid of clutch hitting, solid defense and an inning's worth of relief from his brother Zach, a freshman, Matt earned something else — a 7-4 victory over Governor Mifflin and District Three Class AAAA gold Thursday at Reading's First Energy Stadium.

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