Warwick, Cedar Crest, Manheim Central prepped and ready for District 3 boys volleyball semifinal showdowns | Boys' volleyball

It is crunch time in the District 3 boys volleyball playoffs, with the semifinals on tap for Tuesday night.

Get your popcorn ready.

The Lancaster-Lebanon League is well-represented in the Final Four, with three teams still serving and volleying this spring, as the calendar closes in fast on June: League champ Manheim Central in Class 2A and league runner-up Warwick and Cedar Crest in Class 3A are still in the gym, doing their thing.

Warwick and Cedar Crest have locked up PIAA tourney bids by reaching the 3A semifinals; Manheim Central needs one more win — in the 2A semifinals or in the third-place match — to clinch a state-bracket invite.

Warwick and Manheim Central were the league’s lone PIAA qualifiers last spring. The Warriors are going back, where they’ll be joined by Section 1 rival Cedar Crest. What a season for the Falcons, by the way. The Barons, meanwhile, need to win at least one more match this week for a return trip. Stay tuned.

Previewing and breaking down Tuesday’s semifinals …

CLASS 3A

No. 3 Central York Panthers (14-1) at No. 2 Warwick Warriors (14-1), 7 p.m.

Safe to say the Panthers know their way around a D3 bracket; CY owns a staggering district-record 24 championships — including 10 straight from 1971 through 1982, and 15 titles in 18 years through 1989; their last one was in 2019 — and they are the YAIAA champs this spring, after knocking off rival Northeastern in that title finale. … Warwick, the back-to-back Section 1 champ, and coming off its third trip in a row to the league finals, is angling for its first D3 crown; the Warriors fell to eventual champ Central Dauphin in the semifinals last May. Warwick fought back for third place and a trip to states, where the Warriors fell at Northampton in the first round. … In the PVCA-3A state rankings, CY is No. 4 and rookie skipper Foster Lobb and his Warwick squad are at No. 8. … Players to watch: Lance Shaffer is CY’s glue kid at setter, and two of his favorite serving targets are hitters Trevor Ketrick and Mason Boyer. Libero Donovan Burris is also steady in the back for the Panthers, who had six YAIAA all-star selections this season. … CY’s net-blockers must contend with Warwick hitters Kyle Charles — the Section 1 MVP — Landon Wenger, Thomas Mejia and Bryn Hess up front. Nathan Wenger has had a sensational season setting up those guys at the net. … Warwick blanked No. 10 Red Lion 3-0 in the quarterfinals, after a first-round bye. Red Lion sent No. 7 Hempfield packing with a 3-2 victory in the first round. The Black Knights had a 2-0 lead in the match, before the Lions came roaring back.

L-L LEAGUE BOYS VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS, BOX SCORES, SCHEDULES

No. 5 Cedar Crest Falcons (16-4) at No. 1 Cumberland Valley Eagles (16-0), 7 p.m.

The Falcons’ joyride continues — this time to the very cool CV Dome, one of the best venues in all of D3 — after coach Monica Sheaffer and her crew KO’d longtime district linchpin Northeastern 3-0 in the quarterfinals. … Cedar Crest is in search of its first district crown, and they’ll get an Eagles’ outfit that won the Mid-Penn Commonwealth this spring, and is angling for its second D3 title, and first since 2008. CV fell to rival Central Dauphin in last year’s finale, so the Eagles have been on a redemption tour of sorts this spring. … Cedar Crest, which dethroned CD with a 3-1 first-round win over the Rams last week, was the Section 1 runner-up and fell to eventual champ Manheim Central in the league semifinals. The Falcons are led by steady setter Kody Kerkeslager, crackerjack libero Jack Wolgemuth, hitters Nick Bensing and Tate Tadajweski and power middle Aaron Walters. … CV, which blanked No. 9 Carlisle 3-0 in the quarterfinals after a first-round bye, is at No. 3 in the PVCA-3A state rankings, and is spearheaded by setter Thomas Smith, libero Tyler Quinn, and hitters Andrew Duncan, Trey Edmonds and Brennen Levis.

DISTRICT 3 CLASS 3A BOYS VOLLEYBALL BRACKET

CLASS 2A

No. 3 Manheim Central Barons (15-0) at No. 2 Exeter Eagles (19-0), 7 p.m.

The L-L-champ Barons won their only 2A title back in 2019, and they’re at No. 3 in the PVCA-2A state rankings. Exeter, the Berks League champ this spring with a victory over Governor Mifflin, is at No. 5 in that poll. … Survivor here gets No. 1 Lower Dauphin (17-0) or No. 4 York Suburban (14-3) in Thursday’s finale, as this bracket has gone chalk heading into the semifinals. … LD is the two-time defending D3-2A champ, and is also the reigning PIAA-2A champ, and knocked out Garden Spot 3-0 in the quarterfinals. … Tuesday’s losers will meet on Thursday for third place, and the final PIAA slot out of D3. Manheim Central won the third-place scrap against rival Garden Spot last year, and went deeper than any L-L League team, falling to Dock Mennonite Academy in the state quarterfinals. … Exeter also has one D3-2A crown, and that was back in 2007. The Eagles are paced by imposing 6-foot-8 junior hitter Gaige Gabriel, who has already committed to Penn State. He played for the Team USA U-19 squad earlier this year in the Continental Championships in Guatemala. Safe to say the Barons’ blockers must know where Gabriel is at all times. … A common opponent is Warwick; coach Craig Dietrich and his Section 2-champ Barons beat the Warriors for league gold, while Exeter fell to Warwick in the title match of the Warriors’ tourney last month. … Exeter, which topped No. 7 Brandywine Heights 3-0 in the quarterfinals after a first-round bye, must defend Barons’ power hitters Jacob Moyer, Landon Mattiace, Logan Groff, Peter Burkhart and Toby Frey up front. Those guys have been lights out. Manheim Central could also benefit from a strong service game; keyed by Dylan Musser and Kevin Saengdara, the Barons served splendidly in their 3-0 quarterfinal victory over No. 6 York Catholic.

DISTRICT 3 CLASS 2A BOYS VOLLEYBALL BRACKET

PVCA BOYS VOLLEYBALL STATE RANKINGS