BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Abington Heights favored in competitive Lackawanna League
Abington Heights is looking to recapture the excitement of a championship run as the high school boys volleyball league season is ready to open. The Comets went undefeated in the Lackawanna League last season and defeated Delaware Valley in the District 2 Class 3A final before winning a PIAA first-round match. Abington Heights has a new coach in Jesse Edwards, but returns a veteran lineup, and earned the role of preseason favorite.
Valley View, Blue Ridge and Western Wayne are expected to contend. Abington Heights won the Lackawanna League and the District 2 Class 3A titles last season. Ryan Horutz was an All-Region setter for the Comets and earned first-team all-star honors.
He had 596 assists, 31 aces, 31 blocks, and 110 digs. Nolan Moore, Dan Beck and Chris Cummins, a second-team all-star, are also back for the Comets. Moore had 137 kills and Beck had 94.
Cummins had 220 digs, while Chase Beerman had 89 digs. Edwards replaces Jamie Spangler, a four-time Times-Tribune Coach of the Year, as head coach. The Comets also have to replace Times-Tribune Player of the Year Shawn Theodore and Lackawanna League Player of the Year Shane Brower.
“We are a really high-serving team, and we have a good defense,” Horutz said. “We have to back things up with our blocking and developing our offense. The Lackawanna League will be competitive.