(CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.) – The 2026 season opened in dominating fashion for Wilson as it swept a pair of matches against Valley Forge and Hood on Saturday. The Phoenix opened up the day by cruising by the Patriots in a non-conference contest before bouncing the Blazers in straight sets as well to close the tri-match.
The Basics
Scores: Match 1 – Wilson 3, Valley Forge 0 (25-5, 25-8, 25-7)
Match 2 – Wilson 3, Hood 0 (25-17, 25-9, 25-13)
Venue: Gannett Memorial Field House
Records: Wilson 2-0, 0-0 UE; Valley Forge 0-3, 0-0 UE; Hood 1-1, 0-0 MAC
How It Happened (Match 1 vs. Valley Forge)
- The tone was set early as the Phoenix reeled off 11 consecutive points after Valley Forge led off with an ace. Six of those came on the attack with three coming from Demetrius Simmons (Sr., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg). He was also busy on the defensive end as he paired with Jackson Wolfe (So., Abbottstown, Pa. / New Oxford) to reject a pair of Patriot attacks. After Valley Forge scored the next, a balanced offense increased the lead with Wolfe, Scotty Zorn (FY, York, Pa. / Dallastown), Ryan Koontz (Jr., York Haven, Pa. / Red Land), Simmons, and Elijah Carter (FY, Glassboro, N.J. / Glassboro) all adding kills. Jacob McCoy (Sr., York, Pa. / Spring Grove) added a pair down the stretch before Wes Reall Jr. (FY, Carlisle, Pa. / Big Spring) closed the frame with an ace.
- The second was more of the same as Wilson opened up by scoring the first 10 points. Simmons, Zorn, and Peter Marston (FY, Grand Island, N.Y. / Grand Island) each had a pair of kills during that stretch. The defense for Wilson was stellar once again and allowed the Patriots to score consecutive points just once. The Phoenix closed the set on a 10-1 run which included six-straight points at the end with a pair of Gaetano Davis (FY, York, Pa. / York Suburban) aces.
- Momentum remained in favor of the Phoenix in the third as the hosts raced out to a 14-3 lead. Once again the Patriots were limited to consecutive points just once as Wilson cruised to the win.
How It Happened (Match 2 vs. Hood)
- After evenly splitting the opening 10 points, the Blazers took control shortly as a 6-2 run made it 11-7. Wolfe got the Phoenix back on track with a kill which spurred a 10-1 run to put Wilson up for good. Simmons served up a pair of aces during the stretch, and he was only getting warmed up. Zorn later served up three in a row to make it 22-14. Koontz and Simmons added kills down the stretch for a 1-0 lead.
- The second set ended up being the fourth of the day in which the Wilson defense limited the opponent to single digits in the set. The frame started off balanced as both teams were even at 4-4 before the Phoenix took control with a 10-0 run. After Hood scored the next point, the Phoenix tallied the next four to help put the set out of reach.
- Hood opened up a 4-2 lead before the Phoenix reeled off nine of the next 11 points to take control. After a Blazers kill made it 11-7, Wilson put the match out of reach with another 10-0 run. Simmons was a catalyst for it as he served up four-straight aces and added a fifth later in the rally. The Blazers strung together a few points afterwards before McCoy closed the day with a kill.
Inside The Numbers
- Koontz and McCoy each paced the offense with 13 kills each on the day. Both were highly effective as McCoy hit a monumental .867 while Koontz was also over 50% at .522.
- Simmons also reached double figures across both matches with 11 kills. He served up a combined nine aces.
- Wolfe and Simmons paced the defense on the front row as each had six blocks. On the receiving end, Zorn totaled 14 digs while Sterner and Natale both added 10.
- Natale and Satvik Sharma (So., Hummelstown, Pa. / Hershey) split setting duties on the day. Natale racked up 21 assists in the opener while Sharma added 22 in the nightcap.
Up Next
Wilson will back in action with another tri-match on Saturday as it hosts Mount Aloysius and King's.
