WPIAL Girls Volleyball Quarterfinals Tuesday Recaps

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, October 28, 2014 | 11:15 PM

The Second Round of the district girls volleyball playoffs saw a defending champion stay alive by ousting the top-seed in Class AAA, a surprise run by a double-digit seed continued into Round Three and two powers in Class A move closer to yet another championship showdown. Here are recaps from all twelve Quarterfinals matches from Tuesday, all of which were heard here on the MSA Sports Network.

A special thanks to Brandon Showers, Mike Azadian, Bob Orkwis, Sean Meyers, Mark Schaas, Cory Campano, Chris Lackner, Lou Rood, Buddy McKay, Lee Mohn and Greg Kuntz for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:

North Allegheny Tigers 3 – Shaler Titans 1 
The Lady Tigers entered the WPIAL playoffs as the defending champions but this was a new year, many players had graduated and several have battled or fell to injury.  However, each week head coach Heidi Miller and her squad have worked and experimented to find the right formula.  As the #8 overall seed in this year’s Class AAA tournament, the Tigers would have their work cut out for them.  Last week NA opened with a victory over ninth-seeded Bethel Park in what was a rematch of last year’s final.  Tuesday night, North Allegheny faced the top-seeded and undefeated Lady Titans and knocked off Shaler for a 3-1 victory and a trip to the WPIAL semifinals.  North Allegheny started the first game strong with quality net play by junior Annika Chang and senior Meg Morningstar. Freshman Piper Morningstar set the tempo for the evening by totaling 30 assists.  The game would go back and forth on the scoreboard but the Tigers held on to win 25-22.  In the second game the Lady Tigers trailed early and often and it appeared that Shaler had begun to find its stride, grabbing an 18-10 lead.  NA refused to let up, and at 17-20, Tayler Ricketts served to set up five straight points to give the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish. After stringing together 15 of 19 points, NA won the second game, 25-22.  Trailing two games to none, the Lady Titans, led by senior Annie Bozzo, fired on all cylinders facing elimination.  Bozzo mounted a strong effort in all facets of the game especially from the service line and took game three by a score of 25-13.  Game four was a see-saw battle like the others. The Lady Tigers held a 17-15 lead when Bozzo struck a cross court spike that went wide.  After some discussion amongst the officials it was ruled that the ball was tipped at the net and that sent Bozzo back to the line for Shaler who now trailed, 17-16.  Bozzo struck a hard diving serve that was nicely dug by freshman Erin Carmody and the Tigers took the point and the serve.  That would be a huge swing in momentum and NA never looked back. The game finished with Lauren Swartz recording her only block on the evening when she went up and rejected a last-ditch effort of a Bozzo spike and the Lady Tigers sealed the game, 25-20.
As the stats showed, the Lady Tigers used a solid all around team effort this evening as four Tigers tallied double-digit digs against a strong Titan offensive attack. Lauren Doak led the way with 12, Cayla Donahue had 11, while Chang and Piper Morningstar had 10 a piece.  Meg Morningstar led the offense with 17 kills and 2.5 blocks and for her efforts was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.  With the 3-1 victory the Lady Tigers advance to the WPIAL semi finals on Thursday against the fourth-seeded Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils at a time and site to be announced.

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 3 – Norwin Knights 1 
Tuesday’s WPIAL Girls Volleyball AAA Quarter-final match-up between Mt. Lebanon and Norwin was closely contested throughout despite the final 3-1 score.  Played at Baldwin High School, the two teams traded points back and forth throughout the evening with Norwin winning the first game 26-24 and Mt. Lebanon coming back to win the next three 25-17, 27-25, and 25-17.  In games 1 and 3 the biggest lead by either team was 3 points, It was a similar scenario in games 2 and 4 until Mt. Lebanon was able to pull away in the end to record the victories.  The Blue Devils were led by 5’9” senior Alexa Pavlick who along with help from fellow seniors Alyssa Smith and Mary Baich and sophomores Maggie Rimmel and Katherine Peters, controlled the action in the front line and recorded numerous wicked spikes on the evening.  Katelyn Wihlhelm, Molly Boehner, and Angela Smith handled the tough digs and set up the hitters throughout the games. Norwin put up a valiant effort in defeat led by their 6’3” senior Laura Buchanan along with fellow seniors Lauren Dolney, Reilly Parker and Molly Parker.  Juniors Tylor Sabol, Danielle Nese, and Maria Ferragonio all played well for Norwin.  Both teams exchanged long volleys, big spikes, awesome digs and spectacular play throughout the games entertaining everyone in attendance with the effort and skill they showed.  In the end mistakes and some key plays turned the tide for the Blue Devils and allowed Mt. Lebanon to advance to the semi-finals where they will take on North Allegheny.

Baldwin Highlanders 3 – Pine-Richland Rams 1 
The second seeded Highlanders dominated in the first two games and moved into the semifinals with the win at Canon Mac High School on Tuesday night. Sophomore Madison Sgattoni had a career night with 29 points, including 14 kills and four service aces. Her sister Tori, a senior added 14 points. Sgattoni had five kills in the opening game, a 25-18 victory for the Highlanders. Baldwin was helped out by four aces, the Highlanders notched 13 on the night. The second game was a little tighter, but Baldwin pulled away for a 25-19 victory, Sgattoni had another seven points. Pine-Richland was able to get the lead in the third game and looked like they would pull away to force a fourth, led by Emma Cottrill, who scored seven of her 14 points. The Rams also got good play on the front line by Olivia Olson, who finished with 13 points. Pine-Richland led by a five point margin, but Baldwin fought back to knot the game at 24 before the Rams ripped off two straight points for a 26-24 win. Baldwin jumped out to an early lead in the fourth game, forcing Pine-Richland to call both of their timeouts. Sgattoni scored another seven points, putting an exclamation point on the 25-17 win with an ace. The Highlanders were also paced by Mackenzie Voelker with 15 points and 9 kills.

Seneca Valley Raiders 3 – Hempfield Spartans 0 
The Seneca Valley girls’ volleyball team advanced to the Class AAA semifinals with a straight-sets victory over Hempfield Area at Fox Chapel High School on Tuesday. Despite earning the sweep, the Lady Raiders were tested by the Lady Spartans, as all three sets were decided in the final points by scores of 31-29, 25-23 and 25-21. Seneca Valley, the No. 3 seed, earned the crucial opening set triumph in a thrilling, back-and-forth battle. The No. 6 Lady Spartans gained an early edge, but SV took the lead midway through the set. Facing set-point against, Hempfield forced extra play, but Seneca Valley eventually scored the final three points to take the set. In the second stanza, the Raiders took control at 3-2, and never trailed from that point on, but again needed a late run to prevail after the Spartans deadlocked the score at 20-20. The third and final set followed a similar storyline, as Seneca Valley gained an early lead, which it never relinquished. The Raiders went ahead 6-5, and extended their lead to as many as seven points, at 22-17. Showing their resolve, though, the Spartans battled back to 24-21 before a service error by Hempfield ended the set and match. Senior outside hitter Sydney Martini led the way for Seneca Valley, as she paced the team with 14 kills. Madeline Poirier and her younger sister, Tatum, also provided a spark for SV, while Kate Davis enjoyed success on the service for the Raiders, as she notched four aces. For the Spartans, senior Morgan DeFloria contributed a game-high 15 kills, as she displayed her size and athleticism around the net. Likewise, Lexi Irwin and Gabby Holmberg made big contributions, while Emma Pevarnik found success on the serve. With the victory, Seneca Valley advances to the Class AAA semifinals, to be played Thursday against the second-seeded Baldwin Highlanders at a time and location to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS AA Quarterfinals:

Freeport Yellowjackets 3 – Montour Spartans 0 
Top seeded Freeport earned a spot in the WPIAL Class AA Girls Volleyball Semifinals for the 5th time in 6 years, but it was easy as 8th seeded Montour gave the Yellowjackets all they could handle at North Allegheny High School. All three games were hard fought and all three games featured Freeport shutting the door late to win (3-0) – 25-23 – 25-19 – 25-23. Montour led game 1 by scores of 7-3 & 12-8 before Freeport rallied to tie the game at 17-all. Freeport then scored 7 of the next 9 points to lead by three before taking the first game 25-23. Much the same story in the second game, with the Spartans leading 6-2, 8-5 and 14-8 before the Yellowjackets righted the ship. Freeport scored a run netting 8 of 9 points to take a 19-17 lead. The Yellowjackets scored 6 of the game’s final 7 points to post the 6 point win. Freeport head coach Tom Phillips said afterwards his team didn’t feel entirely comfortable until late in the second game. Game 3 was maybe the most competitive as the teams saw the score tied 13 times. Tied at 23-23, the Yellowjackets took the game’s final two points to win 25-23 and take the match in straight sets over the Spartans. Junior outside hitter Zoe Pawlak, who has 17 kills in Freeport’s opening round win over Kittanning, led all players with 24 kills in the match. Morgan Rupersberger and senior Jess Kelley added 8 kills each, with Macy Smolik contributing 4 after missing three games with an ankle injury. Montour was paced by junior middle hitter Cecilia Esposito with 11 kills. Alexa Mitro added 10, Dillon Buechel 7, Alexa Smarra 6 and Maggie Fleiner 5 in a losing effort for the Spartans. Freeport committed 22 unforced errors in the match, while Montour had 20. The Spartans, champions from Section 2/AA, finish the year with a (11-2) record. Freeport, the defending Class AA Champions, remained perfect in 2014 improving to (15-0). The Yellowjackets will face the Ford City on Thursday night. The Sabres will be making their first ever girls volleyball semifinal appearance. With the win, Freeport also clinched a spot in the PIAA AA Playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

Ford City Sabers 3 – Seton-LaSalle Rebels 1 
In a Cinderella story of sorts the clock has not struck midnight on the Ford City Sabers girls volleyball season. Ford City who won their first section crown this year follow it up with a post season to remember. The Sabers also advance to their first WPIAL semi final to face the winner of Freeport and Montour. That also assures the Sabers their first every state playoff birth. Ford City’s clock will strike 12 and their merger with rival Kittanning will be complete. They defeated the Seton-La Salle Rebels in the quarterfinals with scores of 25-14, 21-25, 25-7, and 25-23, in what was an even match until game three. Seton did not have a lead in game one but managed to sustain a lead from 18-17 in game two. The Sabers then came out in full pounce mode in game three and never trailed the rest of the night. Ford City had to hold off a late Rebels run in game four and were able to.

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 3 – South Fayette Lions 2 
The Thomas Jefferson Jaguars took down the South Fayette Lions in the AA Quarterfinals tonight. The WPIAL Girls Volleyball Championship Playoffs will see TJ move on to the Semifinals to face Beaver on Thursday.  The location of that game is yet to be determined.  The match started out with both squads winning the crowd’s emotions over with some powerful spikes and even play.  A sizeable audience witnessed Rachel Stover of Thomas Jefferson virtually drill the ball wherever she pleased.  Allie Yurkovich was no slouch either as she was by far the most versatile player on the court.  Back and forth action between TJ and SF led to the jags taking down game one 26-24.  TJ then dominated the second set, winning it by a score of 25-12.  Some members of the audience thought that might be it as it quieted down for the third set of the match, but that was hardly the case.  South Fayette roared back in game three and won 28-26 in a hard fought game.  Senior libero Carly Seibel had many diving digs that slowed down the TJ’s big hitters and let the Lions ultimately take game three and force game four.  Thomas Jefferson looked as if they were going to skate their way to a four set victory when they started the match with leads as big as  15-4 and 19-8.  The pesky Lions of South Fayette never gave up though and climbed back multiple times with strong play from Lauren Crites, who was a force all night around the net.  South Fayette took game four 25-22 and had some thinking the comeback was on. 
Although Thomas Jefferson lost some ground losing games three and four, they calmed down and were able to win the fifth and final match 15-11. Their strength came in the serving part of the game from multiple players like Reis Zandier, Bailey Veith, and Megan Fitzgerald.  Both sides had their moments throughout the night and each played with a lot of passion knowing it was a win or go home situation and left everything they had on the floor.  The lady Jags will now wait to hear where their match versus Beaver is determined as they look to stay undefeated and head to the WPIAL Championship.

Beaver Bobcats 3 – Hopewell Vikings 0 
They say that it is tough to beat a team three times in one season. While that cliche may be a bit overused, do not tell that to No. 11 Beaver. After dropping two 3-0 decisions to section rival Hopewell in the regular season, the Bobcats got revenge on Tuesday night at North Allegheny High School, taking down the No. 3 Vikings 3-0. Just days after upsetting No. 6 West Shamokin in the first round, Beaver followed it up with their most impressive victory of the season. Early on, it was evident that it might be a strong night for the underdog, as Beaver opened the match with a 4-0 run and then, moments later, a 7-0 run, grabbing a 15-5 lead. Five service aces would help the Bobcats cruise to an opening set win of 25-13. But Hopewell came out ready for a second set that saw nine ties and multiple six-point Beaver leads blown. After falling behind 18-12, the Vikings would rally, tying the match at 23-23. But Beaver would come up with the late points, taking the second set 27-25. After a 5-0 run to start the third game, Hopewell would again have to scratch their way back into the set. However, Beaver would never relinquish their lead, taking the decisive third game 25-20 and the match in straight sets. Kayla Bulat led the way offensively for the Bobcats with 17 kills. Macy McElhaney and Allie Schmid would both contribute eight kills, while Taylor Hineman pitched in seven. But it was Schmid, an All-WPIAL selection a year ago, who paced everything for Beaver by using a number of finesse plays around the net. Beaver advances to the WPIAL Class AA Semifinals and will meet No. 2 Thomas Jefferson on Thursday at a site and time to be determined. Hopewell was led by Lauryn Driscoll, who notched a match-high 19 kills on the night.

WPIAL CLASS A Quarterfinals:

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 3 – Serra Catholic Eagles 1
Quarterfinal Tuesday saw the top two girl’s volleyball teams in Class A come to Peters Township High School for a pair of games against very worthy opponents. The first of the doubleheader saw the #2 Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions knock off #7 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 3-0. The second match-up pit #1 Bishop Canevin (21-1 in the regular season) against a strong #8 Serra Catholic Eagles (13-3) squad. Game 1 of the match started as a seesaw battle with both teams exchanging points back and worth. Serra Catholic was down 20-18 when they scored 8 straight points unanswered to win the first game by a score of 25-20. The Lady Eagles were powered in Game 1 and frankly, all match long by the stellar play of sophomore middle hitter Lauren Kolenik. Game 2 was probably the most entertaining volleyball of the night. With the momentum in Serra’s favor, they got out to a 17-13 lead. That’s when the #1 seed scratched and clawed back to claim the game by a final score of 25-23. This game could have went either way but, a flurry of mistakes on the Serra Catholic side proved costly. Bishop Canevin’s middle hitter junior Alex Parra was one of the showcases in this game as her battle with Kolenik became a game within the game. The match now tied at a game a piece. Game 3 saw Bishop Canevin start to pull away from Serra Catholic for good. The Eagles led early. The teams traded barbs back and worth for awhile with this game becoming tied at least two or three times. The Crusaders finally took this game by another close score of 25-23. Back-to-back devastating losses seemed to demoralize Serra. Game 4 was a no contest with Bishop Canevin finally finishing off Serra by a score of 25-10. Canevin takes the match by a score of 3 games to 1. Serra Catholic ends a very impressive season with a 13-4 overall record. The Lady Eagles will definitely be a force to be reckon with in 2015. Bishop Canevin now moves on to the semifinals on Thursday evening. They will face the Neshannock Lancers at a site to be determined.

Neshannock Lancers 3 – Avonworth Antelopes 1 
The #5 seeded Neshanock Lancers defeated #13 seed Avonworh in a hard fought Tuesday night and will move on to the quarterfinals Thursday evening.  Scores were 25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 27-25.  After splitting the first two games Neshanock looked liked they would make things easy jumping out to a 16-7 lead in game #3.  Avonworth would trail 24-23 before Neshanock would get the final point.  The last game was nip and tuck throughiout.  Avonworth trailed 23-19 but some clutch serving was able to tie the game at 24 and had a chance to win game four but the Lancers would hold on and finally go on to victory.  Taylor Grybowski led Neshancock with 11 kills and 4 blocks and Jordan Wethli had 15 kills and 3 aces.  Neshanock will face top seed bishop Canevin on Thursday.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 3 – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 0 
At Peters Township high school in the WPIAL girls single A volleyball quarterfinals the 2nd seeded Centurions from Greensburg Central Catholic defeat the Our Lady Of Sacred Heart Chargers by a 3-0 match score.  Games were 25-20, 25-13, 26-24.  In game one it was a battle all game. OLSH led early but GCC came back to tie 6-6. at 7-7 GCC would take a lead and hold it till OOLSH tied it at 15-15. Both teams were strong on net defense, and it looked like the Chargers might win game one with a 19- 17 lead. However the Centurions would score 8 of the last 9 points and win 25-20 stunning the Chargers in game one.  Game two would be an easy win for GCC. After an early OLSH lead of 5-2, the Centurions came back to tie at 5-5. From this point the Centurions would out score the Chargers 20-8 the rest of the way to easily win 25-13.  In game three GCC would take the early lead but OLSH would tie it at 5-5 and take the lead from there. Both teams would make runs. First the Chargers would take a lead, then GCC would tie it at 11-11. The the Centurions would score 9 of 10 points and lead 20-12. But OLSH wasn’t done as they would score 9 of 12 points to tie it at 23-23. They would b tied at 24-24 until GCC scored the last two to win 26-24. Our Lady of Sacred Heart ends a fine season at 15-2 and loses only 3 seniors from their program.  The Centurions were led by Seniors Lauren Nolfi, Megan Stunja, and Leah Bisignani. The three were a force at the net on offense and defense.  Greensburg Central Catholic improves to 17-0 on the year and will play the Shenango Wildcats in the semi finals at a site and time to be determined on Thursday October 30th.

Shenango Wildcats 3 – Frazier Commodores 0 
The Shenango Wildcats came in to the WPIAL Class A Quarterfinals as the #6 seed, and they faced a tall order in the #3-seeded Frazier Commodores, but they set the tone early by scoring the first 5 points of Game 1.  Frazier rebounded with a 5-0 run of its own to tie the game, but Shenango would only relinquish the lead once, outscoring the Commodores, 17-7, the rest of the way as Jacqui Baker’s emphatic kill gave the Cats the first game, 25-16.  They continued scoring the first 3 points in Game 2, but Frazier grabbed the lead at 5-4 and held on until Shenango regained it at 12-11.  The Commodores got it back at the 14-13 mark thanks to a couple of kills by Cassidy Guiser, but again, they could not hold the as the Wildcats pulled ahead, 15-14, and never looked back as a service ace by Irene Koury and a kill by Katie Lacey gave Shenango Game 2, 25-22.  Both teams went back and forth in the 3rd game, and Frazier came within 4 points of winning their first of the match, but key kills by Marie Gonsar and Jacqui Baker gave Shenango the lead for good, and they would complete the sweep, 25-23, for the 3-0 win.  The Shenango Wildcats advance to the Class A Semis on Thursday when they will face the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions.