PIAA-3A VOLLEYBALL: Spring-Ford’s milestone season comes to an end against Central York in state quarterfinals

The unforgettable ride that was the 2025 Spring-Ford boys’ volleyball season has come to a stop.

Three years ago, the program did not exist; on Saturday afternoon, the Rams competed in the PIAA-3A quarterfinals as one of the last eight teams still playing in Pennsylvania. Though they were swept 3-0 by established District 3 power Central York (set scores were 20-25, 16-25, 22-25) in a season-ending defeat, the prevailing emotions afterward were of pride and gratitude.

“It was special,” Spring-Ford head coach Sam Moyerman said by phone once the Rams returned to campus from Cocalico High School, site of the quarterfinal match. “They all realize that. It’s hard to have that awareness, especially in a moment like this, but they were good about it. They understood how special what was happening was and that it could end at any moment. There were tears and hugs after, but every single person who spoke said it was the best ride of their lives.”

Seven of the program’s nine seniors — PJ Szczerba, Zach Parker, Colton Bogdan, Dawson Beccaria, Luc Nguyen, Ian Right and Peter Van Ness — were there from day one, while the other two, Alan Quintero Uribe and Connor Dadourian, joined as juniors. Over the past two to three years, they have helped set the foundation and build atop it something real and lasting. Spring-Ford is the only boys’ volleyball team in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, and these trailblazers went from no team to one of the final eight in warp speed.

Some of them will be borderline irreplaceable, and it’s entirely possible that the program takes a small step back in 2026 as it resets its rotation. At the same time, the Rams had 25 total players in the program, and interest will likely remain robust thanks to the team’s success this season. As Moyerman said, everybody at Spring-Ford loves to win, and this was the season that the boys’ volleyball program crashed the school’s athletics party.

“There’s no doubt what we’ve built is ready to thrive,” Moyerman said. “The next class is coming up and they want to be better; they saw the work those nine seniors put in and know they have to put in more to keep doing these things. At Spring-Ford I’ve learned that we want to be the best and to keep pushing. People here are not happy to rest on their laurels.”

Against Central York — one of five District 3 schools in the 16-team 3A bracket — the Rams immediately spotted their powerful opponent a lead in the first set and were fighting from behind the entire time. Every time that Spring-Ford fought back to cut the deficit to two or three points, the Panthers answered with another surge.

“We knew that they were talented and we had to be on our game,” Moyerman said. “We had to be perfect. We were under their boot from the start, and every time we fought back to make it close they extended it right back up.”

The second set was close until about midway through before the Panthers ran away with it. The third and final one was the most competitive of the match, with the Rams even claiming their first lead of the day at one point. But once again they could not get over the hump, and Central York got the final push it needed to finish off the sweep.

“Every time we got close, they extended or we stepped on our own toes,” Moyerman said. “We couldn’t make that one needed extra play.”

Szczerba’s final high school match consisted of 12 kills, 14 digs and a block. Nguyen (28 assists, seven digs), Beccaria (25 digs), Parker (three kills, four blocks), Bogdan (six kills, 10 digs, block), Dadourian (18 digs, two kills) and Ethan Smith (five kills, two blocks) all made significant contributions down to the wire.

Moyerman said that the team was still reaping positive tidings even in defeat, as the head volleyball coach at Elizabethtown College attended the match and offered Beccaria a spot on the team. Meanwhile, Szczerba and Parker will both be attending Virginia Tech and aim to keep their careers on the court going at the club level.

The volleyball experience for this group was so positive that it will be hard to stop playing. It was an absolutely seminal season that the Rams endured, and while they all likely had some whiplash in processing all of the emotions following the season’s end, the memories they made will be everlasting when the sting from defeat subsides.

“They weren’t just showing up to play – they were playing to win and playing for each other,” Moyerman said. “They hated losing and didn’t want it to end; they wanted another week, but everyone said that this was the best team they had ever been a part of. We had a losing record the second week of the season and made it to the round of eight.

“There’s only four teams left, and it sucks not being one of them. But these guys got to do something special and got it to click finally. The bond with this group – I can’t even imagine any team coming close to it.”