Defending WPIAL champion North Allegheny boys volleyball off to fast start

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, April 5, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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How the North Allegheny boys volleyball program opened the season showed why it is the envy of other programs in Western Pennsylvania. The Tigers played their opening tournament and first two section matches without one of their top hitters — senior outside hitter Jason Stiefvater.

But the defending WPIAL Class AAA champions and PIAA runner-up haven't shown many signs of slipping.

North Allegheny swept Shaler and Pine-Richland to open section play in late March.

“The depth is something we always have,” North Allegheny coach Dan Schall said. “You can see it already this year. Jason hasn't competed this year. Other guys have had to carry the load, and we're able to do that because of a strong bench and a lot of depth on the bench.”

Consistent program building ensured the Tigers' program had a floor-general-in-waiting ready to run the attack. North Allegheny lost setter MJ Barton, who was named the WPIAL's co-player of the year last season.

The Tigers replaced him with St. Francis commit AJ Schmidt, who was good enough to be a full-time setter as a junior.

Sharing time with Barton allowed Schmidt to build his skills and be able to demonstrate his prowess this season.

He leads the team with 194 assists and 10 aces and is third on the squad with 15 blocks.

North Allegheny also has a solid stable of hitters to pair with Schmidt.

Penn State commit Canyon Tuman, a middle hitter, has a team-high 94 kills. But North Allegheny also has a consistent crew behind him.

Alex Zubrow (29 kills), Jake Barber (26), Jeremiah Zemet (26) and Drew Hunker (20) have helped keep opponents honest.

That's only part of what North Allegheny returned. The Tigers also return defensive specialist Ryan Beck, who will play at Division II Daemen (N.Y.) next season.

“It's a pretty experienced group,” Schall said. “Canyon has been on the court a lot since he was a freshman. Jason Stiefvater has had a lot of time on the court. AJ was certainly ready to set prior to this year.”

Schall hopes the team's experience will be able to carry them early.

Once Stiefvater returns, North Allegheny will be able to continue its chase of another PIAA title in earnest.

“I think there's a confidence that is tough to replicate outside of doing it,” Schall said. “Going on that journey puts you on high stakes situations that builds character on the way.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: North Allegheny