WARRINGTON — Exactly one calendar year later, everything is different and everything is the same for Spring-Ford girls’ volleyball.
On Saturday afternoon at Central Bucks South High School, the Rams played a PIAA-4A quarterfinal match – same as they did last year. Last season, they outlasted Parkland in five grueling sets inside this gymnasium; on Saturday, it was three daunting sets against a capable challenger in Emmaus, the second seed out of District 11.
Spring-Ford won again, this time 3-0, though it was anything but easy (set scores were 25-19, 25-21, 25-23). One year ago in this round, setter Marley Angelucci recorded her 1,000th career assist in the quarterfinals, and her first assist on Saturday was number 2,000 for the now senior. Once more, the still-unbeaten Rams are onto the state semifinals, but now they enter Tuesday’s match against fellow District 1 foe Bishop Shanahan in the hunted role as opposed to the plucky upstart hunters.
“Last year, every game we were playing was the next target to beat,” explained senior Lila Olsen, who along with sophomore Elle Sossong led Spring-Ford with 19 kills. “This year, we’re the target to beat. We’re going into each game knowing that (our opponent) is in the same position we were in last year.
“Last year we didn’t really know what we were getting into. We just knew we had to beat that team (in front of us) to move on. This year, we need to move on to get back to where we did last year.”
Lila Olsen (left) posted 19 kills, five digs and an ace in Spring-Ford’s 3-0 win over Emmaus in the PIAA-4A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
Spring-Ford’s 2024 run came to an end in the state final in four sets against North Allegheny, the magic finally running out just shy of the finish line. The program has not lost a match since, so while the calculus and expectations may have changed, there is also a feeling of familiarity that tells these girls they are ready to hoist that state title trophy. They are no longer just happy to be here.
“It feels the same to me in that we knew we deserved to be there (last year) and worked extra hard,” Angelucci said, whose older sister, Lauren, held the program’s career kills record until Olsen broke it in Tuesday’s first-round match against Upper Dublin. “It’s the same this year – we still work hard, but now we have these titles, so everyone knows what we can bring now.”
The PAC and District 1-4A champion Rams (28-0) are no longer a surprise to anyone they line up against, and Emmaus was more than prepared for the Herculean task at hand. The Hornets came out strong, winning four of the first five points and letting Spring-Ford know it would have to earn every inch of this victory. Even when Angelucci and Olsen teamed up for three aces in short succession to spur a turnaround and take an 11-5 lead, the Hornets stung back, ripping off six straight to tie the proceedings at 11-all.
It remained tight until the very end when Sossong caught fire following a slow start, burying three consecutive kills and Emmaus in the process.
“We definitely didn’t play our best game,” Olsen said. “We had to rely on each other a little bit; I was making a lot of mistakes, so it was helpful to rely on Marley and Elle to get the next point for us. Helping each other out is what got us through it. We just need to clean up our game. As we trust each other (more), our game gets better.”
Emmaus junior middle blocker Rosie Landino had a strong performance and helped keep the match close throughout in the Hornets’ 3-0 loss to Spring-Ford in the PIAA-4A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
Emmaus controlled set two for the majority. The Hornets again won four of the first five points and built an early 9-4 advantage. Junior Rosie Landino and senior Claudia Walls had three kills apiece in the set, with the visitors gaining more consistent momentum.
But the Hornets could not close, and an error into their own net late in the proceedings gave the Rams their first lead of the set at 21-20. Smelling blood in the water, Spring-Ford converted six straight points and was able to close out another tight one to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
“At this point of the season, it’s all mental,” Emmaus head coach Jessi Olang said. “We’re not going to suddenly run faster or jump higher or change our offense. It’s about mental toughness and being able to hang in. These girls have a camaraderie that coaches wish for – they were out there laying it out for each other and didn’t let up for one moment.”
One of those major differences in 2025 as it pertains to Spring-Ford is opponents can no longer give the Rams an opening. Not landing the knockout blow when the door is cracked open has proven fatal for the few teams this season in a position to actually knock the Rams down.
The third set was similarly close. Emmaus took an early lead behind a strong start from sophomore Emma Nesfeder, but Sossong again caught fire both in the middle of the set (three straight SF points) and at the end (four in a row). Spring-Ford led 20-16, but the Hornets kept coming, closing the gap to 24-23 until Olsen finally was able to land the deciding blow with a match-ending kill.
Elle Sossong had 19 kills, seven digs and two aces in Spring-Ford’s 3-0 victory over Emmaus in the PIAA-4A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
“I knew I had to get that one last hit to finish it off,” she said. “We didn’t want to have to go past 25 into after points, so we just did what we needed to do to finish off each point in that last set.”
Olsen reflected on Angelucci (36 assists, seven digs, three blocks, three aces, two kills) racking up another 1,000 assists in a single season after it took her nearly three to compile her first 1,000. Had the Rams not played so deep into the season the last two years, Angelucci likely never hits 2k assists, the same way Olsen probably would not have had enough matches to dethrone Lauren Angelucci as the program’s all-time kills leader. Individual achievements are not something these girls are interested in chasing, but the longer they play, they get to commemorate these milestones together.
“Without Marley we wouldn’t be the team we are, because you need a good setter to have good hitters,” Olsen said. “She’s definitely one of the biggest parts of our team.”
For her part, Marley Angelucci demurred. Volleyball setters are selfless by nature of the position, so she passed the compliment right back to her teammates.
“I wouldn’t be able to get 2,000 assists if I didn’t have good hitters who can hit the ball,” she said. “It genuinely is because of my team. It’s really special to me, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”
The next rung of the ladder to ascend comes on Tuesday against Shanahan — the fourth seed from District 1 — at a site and time still to be determined. At this point, the opponent is irrelevant and the mission remains the same: win at all costs.
“We’re all in and we all know it’s right ahead of us,” Angelucci said. “We’re two steps away. We’re going to watch the other team’s film, know their weaknesses and really dial in. Hopefully we’ll pull through.”
