Hempfield, Manheim Central clinch semifinal spots in District 3 boys volleyball playoffs
May 21-It was PIAA Boys Volleyball Royalty Night in Landisville on Thursday.
Two of the most successful programs in District 3 - and the state - squared off when the Black Knights, winners of 15 district titles, hosted 28-time district champ Central York in a much-anticipated district quarterfinal showdown.
As you might suspect, it turned out to be an epic match - a match Hempfield survived.
George Agadis boomed 20 kills and had three blocks, Marcel Boyreau set up 42 assists, Mason Koehler clobbered 16 kills and had a pair of blocks, and the Knights picked off the Panthers 3-1 to advance to the Class 3A semifinals.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24, as Central York made Hempfield earn it at the tape.
It took the Knights a pair of match points to finally subdue the 10th-seeded Panthers, who came on like gangbusters after Hempfield sailed to a 2-0 lead.
Up next for the Knights is another familiar face in District 3 big-school boys volleyball; second-seeded Hempfield will host No. 3 Cumberland Valley, the defending champ, in a semifinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Eagles beat No. 11 Lower Dauphin 3-0 in the quarterfinals, and topped Central York in the title match last spring.
Hempfield has its graduation on Tuesday, so the match was moved to Wednesday, one day before the district final and consolation matches. So the Knights and Cumberland Valley will have a busy 24 hours on the court.
By securing a semifinal slot, Hempfield qualified for the state tournament. The Knights will play in a district semifinal for the first time since 2021, when they won their 15th crown.
"We haven't been this far in a little while, and we've been working so hard for this the last couple of years," Hempfield's Spencer Troyer said. "This one feels great. We knew going in that they were going to give us a rough time. But we also knew that we could beat them if we powered through it."
The Knights did exactly that.
Hempfield, the L-L League champ, improved to 19-7 all-time against Central York in District 3 matchups. The Panthers had won the three previous meetings; the Knights beat Central York for the first time in a district match since the Class 3A semifinals in 2013.
Hempfield (17-0 overall) cruised early on, getting seven kills from Koehler, five from Agadis, and key kills late from Cam Crawford and Chase Crawford to fend off Central York in the first set. The Knights never trailed and carried that momentum into the second set.
There, Hempfield broke free from an 8-8 tie, closing the set on a 17-5 tear for a 2-0 lead.
Agadis had six more kills, and Koehler keyed the Knights' big run with an ace that gave Hempfield the lead for good at 9-8. Later, Boyreau had a setter dump, a block and an ace to help the Knights close it out.
Undaunted, Central York (12-5) barreled to 6-0, 7-1 and 11-6 leads in the third set. The Knights finally caught the Panthers at 14-14 and 15-15. But Central York's T.J. Talley hammered go-ahead kills both times, and the Panthers, who are at No. 9 in the state rankings, went 10-3 down the stretch to force a fourth set.
"They were touching everything and getting digs left and right," Hempfield coach Kenny Eiser said. "Credit to them; they fought us until the very end. We tend to hit a lull in the middle of a game somewhere, and we have to fight back later. But we have those guys, and they're playing really well."
Plenty of drama ensued in the fourth set. Hempfield looked relatively safe when Troyer's kill gave the Knights a 19-16 cushion. But Central York tied it at 21-21, and had a 22-21 lead before Boyreau knotted it up with another setter dump for the Knights.
Hempfield tied it at 23-23 on Agadis' slam, but the Knights couldn't close it out on their first match point. Troyer's kill gave Hempfield a 25-24 lead, and on the Knights' second match point, Agadis unloaded the clinching kill, and Hempfield, ranked No. 7 in the state, won it.
In another Class 3A quarterfinal on Thursday:
Dallastown 3, Conestoga Valley 0
The fifth-seeded Buckskins were making their deepest district appearance since 2007, but the host Wildcats took care of business with a 25-19, 25-18, 26-24 victory to send CV, the L-L League runner-up and ranked No. 10 in the state, into the consolation bracket.
Section 2 MVP Charlie Krcmar had 33 assists and 14 digs, and Andy Bonhomme had 19 kills and a pair of blocks for the Bucks, who are still alive to make the PIAA playoffs.
CV (18-2) will host No. 8 Red Land on Tuesday at 7 p.m. That winner will advance to the fifth-place match; the loser is done.
The top five teams in Class 3A qualify for states.
Fourth-seeded Dallastown (18-2) will play at No. 1 Central Dauphin - a 3-0 winner over Red Land - in the semifinals on Tuesday.
And in the Class 2A quarterfinals:
Manheim Central 3, Daniel Boone 0
The Barons and York Suburban have been on a collision course since they clashed twice in the postseason last spring. Fourth-seeded Manheim Central took care of its end of the bargain with a 28-26, 25-15, 25-22 triumph over the fifth-seeded Blazers at Manheim.
Top-seeded York Suburban will host No. 8 Linville Hill Christian in a quarterfinal match on Friday night.
The Barons beat York Suburban in the district final last year - after Manheim Central KO'd Linville Hill in the semifinals.
The Barons went on to top York Suburban in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals, before clocking Meadville for state gold.
The Barons (13-5) remained on their playoff push after topping Daniel Boone (13-7).
Gavin Longenecker steered the offense with 50 assists, Caleb Groff grooved 16 kills, Daniel Becker and Jay Hollinger had two blocks apiece, and Will Myers and Ryder Buckwalter each had six digs for Manheim Central, which is ranked fifth in the state.
The top three finishers in Class 2A make the PIAA playoffs, so the Barons need at least one more victory to get a shot at defending their state gold.
------
X: @JeffReinhart77
MORE L-L LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 11:14 PM.