In the world of sports there are many ways to shake off a loss. For some there are routines or superstitions they revert to, others a lucky item that needs adjusted but for many the comforts of home are all that is needed.

The Buckskin boys' volleyball team went with option three, using the friendly confines of Rill Gymnasium for a 3-0 sweep of McCaskey on March 30th to shake off a loss to Warwick a few days prior. Drew Hultstrand was the star of the 25-11, 25-18 and 25-16 win, posting 27 assists to go with nine digs and three aces. Garrett Funck finished with one block and Tardibuono with 11 kills.

Conestoga Valley did not get to enjoy home too long with an April 4th match taking the Buckskins to Landisville for a battle with Hempfield. CV was up for the challenge, shaking of a rocky stretch that saw them drop back-to-back games to leave with a 3-2- win.

Conestoga Valley opened with a 25-18 win and allowed the Black Knights to go up 2-1. Those two matches ended with Hempfield on top 25-22 and 25-23 but CV bounced back with another 25-18 victory, forcing a winner take all game five. The 'Bucks claimed the decisive game, 15-12, to secure the match. Hultstrand added 20 digs and one ace to his 41 assists while Carson Hoover finished with 22 kills. Rowan Aisenbrey matched Hultstrand's 20 digs with Tardibuono adding 17 kills.

TENNIS

Moving outside, it has not mattered much whether the boy's tennis team is at home or away, they have found the going tough in 2023. The Buckskins sit at 5-4 after a difficult 1-3 stretch that saw them fall to both McCaskey and Manheim Township by 7-0 finals. Sandwiched in between was a 6-1 setback to Hempfield where the duo of Fabian Heine and Boro Krstic claimed the lone win.

CV was able to right the ship a bit on April 5th, slipping by Cocalico 3-2. Heine and Krstic both played key roles in the win, just not as a duo. Heine, along with Michael Horst, accounted for two of the three team points with singles victories. Krstic did his helping with another doubles win, this time pairing with David Berkley for the number two doubles win.

BOYS' LACROSSE

'You win some, you lose some' is a popular phrase in the sports world but the CV boy's lacrosse team's recent two game stretch would fall under an odd offshoot of that line. On March 30th, the Buckskins dropped their game with Penn Manor by one goal, 8-7. Two days later the 'Bucks were back at it, this time clipping Exeter by the same one goal margin, winning 10-9 in overtime.

Against the Comets it was a rough opening quarter that left CV fighting from behind the rest of the way. The slow start put CV behind by two scores where they stayed until the final frame. There Conestoga Valley was finally able to get the better of Penn Manor but the 2-1 edge was not enough to undo the early struggles. Jeff Fisher (3g-1a) and Hunter Silvaggio (4g) did the scoring while Soren Stoltzfus stopped 13 shots in goal.

Conestoga Valley kicked off April with that overtime victory on the 1st, using four goals from both Fisher and Silvaggio coupled with single scores from Tyson Zwaska and Isaiah Sensenig to secure the win. Stoltzfus turned away 11 shots to get his second win of the season.

GIRLS' LACROSSE

The girls' lacrosse team was unable to find a similar dose of mojo, remaining winless after losses to Penn Manor on March 30th and Hempfield on April 4th. Jamie Handwerger finished the 17-6 loss at Penn Manor with 11 saves and the 13-6 setback to Hempfield with another 13 saves. Sophia Hess continued her strong start with two goals in each game. Danae Ulrich tallied three goals in the two games, double dipping against Penn Manor which was matched by Bella Miller in the Hempfield loss. Jordyn Hironimus totaled two goals, one in each game while Sophia Weiss finished things up with the final score against the Comets.

SOFTBALL

It may be early in the season, but the CV softball team sits atop the rough and rugged Section Two standings with a 2-0 mark. The Lady 'Bucks collected the first win on April 3rd, rolling by Lebanon 17-0 in three innings. Rhiannon Henry covered the initial two frames to collect the win while Brylee Bateson finished things up in the circle. The pair combined for five strikeouts and allowed no hits, making things easy for the offense.

Henry collected three hits and two RBI, but it was Hollyn Helsel that carried the big bat, driving in five runs on two hits. Alexa Freeburn, Isabella Rodriguez, and Kaitlyn Humpreville joined Henry with two RBI each.

Conestoga Valley enjoyed another mercy rule win, taking out Garden Spot by a 16-0 count on March 31st. Henry went solo for the win, covering all four innings, allowing no hits while striking out 11 Lady Spartans. The senior hurler helped her own cause with a two hit-four RBI day at the plate. Bateson and Rodriguez were joined by Emma Wanger in the two RBI club.

The Lady 'Bucks needed the entire game to get by Ephrata on the 5th but did manage a 6-3 win. Henry covered all seven innings on the way to the win but just one of those three runs was earned thanks to four CV errors. Bateson led the offense with two RBI on three hits with Henry, Wagner, and Tori Rhoads accounting for the remaining RBIs.

BASEBALL

The baseball team finds itself atop the Section Two standings with a 6-3 win over Lebanon on April 3rd as the reason. Owen Fisher did his part with six strong innings that included 10 strikeouts. Brendan Bossert added one to that strikeout out tally while covering the final inning. Evan Wilson paced the offense with two RBI while Garrett Daniels, Jackson Esbenshade and Preston Fisher each pushed one run across.

The Buckskins were unable to solve the Comets of Penn Manor, falling by an 8-3 final on March 30th. Luke Landis joined Daniels in driving in a run to account for the CV offense. Jude Thompson took the loss for his five innings of work with Wilson and Evan Lapp covering an inning each in relief.

TRACK

The track and field teams hosted Lampeter-Strasburg on April 3rd where the boys posted a 97-53 win while the girls fell by a 78-73 final. Three different Buckskins posted double wins starting with Nick Tran in the 100m and 200m. Aidan Zimmerman pulled his double in the discus and javelin while Thabo Lautsbaugh earned his two wins in the long and triple jumps. Jordan Sensenig claimed the final field win, taking top honors in the high jump.

CV added relay wins in the 4x100 and the 4x400 for a quick 10 team points. Joey Castronova added a 400m win while Caleb Malari (110H) and Ben Eberly (300H) rounded out the first places.

For the Lady Buckskins only Brooke Denlinger was able to collect two wins, sweeping the hurdles with a 16.1 in the 100H and a 36.0 in the 300H. Outside of relay wins in the 4x100 and 4x400, the Lady 'Bucks picked up just two more wins, Rylie Hershey in the 400m and Asha Marwaha in the 1600m.