North Allegheny captures 6th straight PIAA girls volleyball championship

By: Jeffrey Kauffman
Saturday, November 19, 2022 | 10:13 PM

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MECHANICSBURG — North Allegheny girls volleyball has won a lot of matches over the past six years, especially on the biggest stage.

On Saturday night, the Tigers maintained their position atop Pennsylvania’s highest classification by claiming their sixth straight PIAA Class 4A title with a 3-0 win over District 1 champion Garnet Valley.

It was North Allegheny’s ninth title overall.

They repeated by dropping the first game but rallying to win the match 26-28, 26-24, 25-8 and 25-12, at the Eagle Dome at Cumberland Valley High School.

“This is so special, to be able to win again with this group of seniors,” said senior setter Mia Tuman, who is heading to Ohio State to play volleyball in the Big Ten. “We didn’t play well in the first game, but a bit of motivation from losing (to Pine-Richland) in the WPIAL championship was a reminder to us that we don’t like losing.

“We just kept talking about relaxing and playing our game. Once we did, we played well. The third game might have been our best game all season.”

The first game was a test of wills that ultimately was decided by a freshman. Sarah Wood of Garnet Valley made an impact in the early going. She was able to swing from deep, on either side and added a couple of blocks as well. The Tigers weren’t quick enough with the double block, and she ultimately hit over the block.

Klaira Zakarian also was a big factor for the Jaguars as she provided a different look when they set away from Wood.

The Tigers came out quickly in Game 2 but fell into some of the same mistakes. Garnet Valley found some holes and used the aggressive blocks to knock balls off the blocks and out of bounds. The Jaguars also received five different calls of touching the net on Tigers points.

The Tigers, though, righted the ship behind Tuman and Ella Zimmer. A final dig and return by Tuman fell on the Jaguars’ side for the game-winner.

The fortuitous bounce seemed to energize the Tigers and deflated the Jaguars.

It was vintage North Allegheny in Game 3. The Tigers took leads of 8-0, 15-2 and 20-4 before closing out the match 25-8 to take a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers (22-1) ran out to a 19-9 lead in Game 4. The Jaguars struggled with service-receive and sets, while the Tigers put on a clinic in keeping balls alive. The defensive receivers of Avery Butcher, Rebecca Pilotta and Ella Deeter kept every ball up to give the Tigers a chance. Tuman was everywhere setting the ball for hitters and getting a chance to hit. She found spots numerous times in Games 3 and 4 to find open floor.

“This group of seniors is special, and it is so nice to be a part of their success,” Tigers coach Russ Hoburg said. “They have worked so hard to be part of the tradition of NA volleyball. We are a very senior-laden team, but we have some players who didn’t see much time tonight that are just as good as our seniors. They just have to wait their turn.

“We have several players who can hit, and we do spread the ball around a bit. In Game 1, we just didn’t play our game, we let them dictate things.”

Garnet Valley, which was looking for its second title, finished its season 24-2.

“Wood was just phenomenal tonight,” Jaguars coach Mark Clark said. “We played so well in the first game and into the second game. We kind of felt deflated after losing the lead in Game 2 and ultimately the game. We came out so flat in Game 3 and put ourselves in a hole that you can’t dig out of against teams as good as North Allegheny. They just came at us in Game 4, as well. The girls fought and battled all season and had a great year.”

Tags: North Allegheny