GLEN ROCK -- The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same for the Susquehannock girls' volleyball team.

Despite the graduation of three of their top players (libero Hannah Bentz, outside hitter/setter Kacey Franz and outside hitter Sherelle Walker) from last year's District 3-AA championship squad, the Warriors haven't missed a beat this season.

Even a bump up in classification to AAA and a coinciding move back up to York-Adams Division I hasn't flustered Coach Rob Marrison's club.

So there wasn't a lot of doubt that the No. 9 ranked team in the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class AAA poll would be up to the task in their first big challenge of the season Tuesday night against Central York.

The Panthers battled the hosts in three tough contests in a meeting of two of the top three teams in the division standings. The Warriors, however, proved to be much more versatile with their offense en route to sweeping a 25-13, 25-20, 25-21 triumph.

Susquehannock improved to 3-0 in the division, while Central fell to 2-1.

"We have a pretty balanced offensive attack this year," Marrison said. "We don't have that one standout, outstanding hitter like we had with Sherelle from last year. So that (balance) helps us out a lot."

No one was aided more by that balance than Beth Garrison. Dwarfed in size by 6-foot-2 teammate Caroline Savin, Garrison doesn't stand out on the court. But when the senior has an opportunity to put the ball away, she's proven that she's more than capable. Garrison led her team with nine kills for the match despite all the attention that Savin draws with her obvious height.

"She's capable of it," Marrison said. "She's a small outside and everybody takes her for granted, but she shows that she's a really good volleyball player."

Garrison learned a lot a year ago while she filled in for Walker in the back row during rotations. She also started a handful of games for the couple of weeks that Walker was out of the lineup because of an injury. That experience, mixed with all the attention that Savin draws, fuels Garrison's passion to succeed.

"They kind of tend to overlook the shorter players," she said. "But we can do just as well as the bigger girls."

After Central stormed out to a 6-3 lead in Game 1, the Warriors quickly turned things around. Susquehannock responded with two five-point runs and another three-point rally that fueled a 22-7 run to cap the game.

Game 2 was back-and-forth until the Warriors broke an 11-all tie with another five-point run. The Panthers did manage to cut the deficit to one point (18-17), but couldn't get over the hump.

"We were a little inconsistent (at times) and I think that was the difference in the match," said Central coach Nate Ocasio. "We just gave up a little bit (too many) runs to them."

The final game was much like Game 2. The teams exchanged the lead several times until the hosts took charge midway through. The Warriors snapped a 14-all tie with a four-point burst and never looked back.

"I'm really happy," Marrison said of his side. "We've been through a couple of scrimmages and we're ranked (No. 9) in the state, which I questioned that. But we saw Parkland and Bishop Shanahan and some of the other ranked schools at scrimmages and we've been competitive with them. So it's in there and if I can just keep drawing (it out of them) on a nightly basis we'll be successful."

Abigale Bentz and Leah Deter combined for 15 kills on the night, while Savin finished with eight to help the Warriors to victory. Libero Geena Weger led the defense with 21 digs, while setter Rachel Moltz finished with 32 assists to go with eight digs and three blocks.

Hadley Swartz paced the Panthers with a game-high 12 kills, while setter Erin Dobbeck finished with 25 assists for Central.

OTHER GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

DELONE CATHOLIC 3, YORK TECH 0: At Spry, the Squirettes rolled, 25-17, 25-10, 25-9. Kelly O'Boyle (10 assists), Meghan Stambaugh (nine assists) Kayle Baadte (four digs, four aces), Katie Laughman (eight aces), Leslie Rang (five kills) and Lexi Redding (five kills) led Delone. Lauren Bupp (18 digs) and Adrianna Beattie (12 digs) paced Tech. Delone also won the JV match, 25-4, 25-2.

NORTHEASTERN 3, YORK HIGH 0: At Manchester, the Bobcats swept the match, 25-13, 25-8, 25-18. Natalee Brown (six kills, five aces), Kylie Cotroneo (five aces, seven digs) and Natalie Seitz (seven kills, nine digs) led the way for Northeastern. Jasmine Berry (one kill, three digs, two blocks), Anastacia Howard (two kills, five digs, one ace) and Bria Banks (two digs, one block and one ace) turned in the top performances for York High. The Bobcats also won the JV match, 25-10, 25-12.

SPRING GROVE 3, DALLASTOWN 0: At Spring Grove, Samantha Bollinger pounded eight kills, and Brooks Osborne supplied 11 assists and 10 digs to highlight the Rockets' 25-15, 25-21, 25-23 victory over the Wildcats. Katie Baynum added four kills, five aces and six blocks for Spring Grove, and Katie Mummert, Adrienne Marcionette and Jackie Thoman combined for 25 digs. Katie Pennewill (three kills, four digs), MacKenzie Peters (six kills, four digs) and Emma Legere (two aces, two kills, 17 digs) led Dallastown. Spring Grove also won the JV match, 25-17, 25-18.

YORK SUBURBAN 3, KENNARD-DALE 1: The visiting Trojans scored a 25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20 victory over the Rams. Kayla Gibbs (15 kills, 16 digs), Morgan Lehman (11 kills, 10 digs, two aces) and Maura Brehl (eight digs, seven kills) paced Suburban. The Rams were led by Jess Myers (16 kills, six blocks, two aces) and Malaina McConville (20 digs, eight kills).

YORK CATHOLIC 3, FAIRFIELD 0: At Fairfield, Natalie Stewart led the Irish to the 25-17, 25-8, 25-16 victory with six aces and six assists. LaVon Maxwell had five kills, Nicole Krevetski had 10 assists and Irene Jankowski had three aces. For the Green Knights, Trisha Zimmerman had nine assists, while Danielle Shindledecker had three aces and three kills. York Catholic won the JV match, 25-13, 25-9.

SOUTH WESTERN 3, DOVER 2: The visiting Mustangs went back-and-forth with Dover to score a 19-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory. South Western was led by Mariah Krumrine (40 assists, 18 digs, six kills, three aces), Danielle Savino (14 digs, five kills) and Sarah Bortner (16 digs, four kills). Lauryn Messner (28 assists, five kills, two digs) and Bayleigh Hoffman (20 kills, 18 assists, 10 digs, three aces) paced Dover.

HANOVER 3, BERMUDI AN SPRINGS 2: At Hanover, the Hawkettes won, 20-25, 27-29, 25-21, 25-17, 15-13. Shelby Barnes led the home team with 18 kills, six aces and 12 digs. Renee Drawbaugh had three aces, five kills, 10 digs and 43 assists. Bermudian won the JV match, 21-25, 25-17, 15-13.

EASTERN YORK 3, NEW OXFORD 0: At New Oxford, the Golden Knights rolled to a sweep of the Colonials, 25-21, 27-25, 25-18. Lexi Rhein led Eastern with 11 kills, 11 assists and 14 digs. Lauren Reichard had seven kills and three blocks and Kori Reichard contributed five digs and two aces. Alexis Hufnagel (10 kills) and Bonaire Berry (16 assists) led New Oxford. Eastern won the JV match, 25-12, 25-18.

-- Reach Ryan Vander sloot at sports@yorkdis patch.com.