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Down two games to one, the Blazers rallied to defeat Brandywine Heights and advance to the District Three Class AA semifinals.
Fast forward 371 days. Again, the scene is Lower Dauphin's gym and again, the opponent is Brandywine Heights.
It was déjà vu in all ways except for one.
This time, there was no comeback. This time, Brandywine Heights walked away with the win.
The Bullets, the No. 4 Class AA team in the state, according to the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll, never trailed in the first two games and overcame a deficit in the third game to sweep the Blazers, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18.
Brandywine Heights, which increased its match (non-tournament) record to 20-0, will face Dover in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday at Central York High School. Dover defeated Greencastle-Antrim 3-0 in the other quarterfinal at Lower Dauphin.
The loss ends the season for the Blazers (15-4), who will lose five seniors from the team.
To Brandywine Heights coach Mike Pienta, the difference was the experience his seniors brought to the floor.
"I've been coaching this team for a long time," he said. "They don't get shook up in big games. When a mistake is made, they tend to let it roll off their shoulders and move on to the next play. That's the key."
The Bullets made few mistakes and when they did, those mistakes were usually sandwiched around points won.
In the first and second games, Brandywine Heights got off to strong starts, reeling off five points in a row and each time, the Blazers couldn't catch up. Mennonite pecked away at the Bullets' lead but couldn't pull even.
In the first game, with Chynna Gehman's jump serves as the catalyst, the Bullets took a 9-2 lead. Mennonite never got the gap under four points. In the second game, with Kaitlyn Schmeck serving, Brandywine Heights sprung to a 5-2 lead and Mennonite could not answer with their own spurt.
"If we hadn't had those slumps, the score would have been a lot closer," said Lancaster Mennonite coach Erin Martin. "We sided out well other than that one rotation. But they sided out well, too, and we couldn't get a bunch of points with any one server."
Knowing their season was on the line, the Blazers started the third game with greater resolve and rolled out to leads of 8-5 and 11-8. Erin LaVenice (10 kills) and Jessica Rheinheimer (six kills, three blocks) led the Blazers. But Bullets' senior middle Alex Brehony (10 kills, six blocks) had two good swings and a block to help Brandywine Heights jump back to a 13-11 lead.
Lancaster Mennonite came back to tie the game twice, the last time at 15-15. From there, the Bullets went on a 6-0 run, getting a pair of kills each from Alexa Swann and Courtney Lucarelli to take a 21-15 lead, a lead too steep for the Blazers to overcome.
"(Brandywine Heights') defense was really good," Martin said. "We had a tough time getting kills. They blocked well and balls that would normally hit the ground, they would scramble after and send over a free ball, at least."
Mennonite's Rachel Kennel finished with seven kills and Jessica Zook had three blocks. Blazers' senior libero Melissa Umble had a team-high 19 digs.
