North Allegheny’s Mia Tuman named Pa. Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, January 15, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Whenever the North Allegheny girls volleyball team wins a title, the Tigers have a knack for winning it again and again.

That includes individual awards. NA junior Mia Tuman became the fourth Tigers volleyball player in eight seasons to earn the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year honor and the second in a row. Tuman follows North Allegheny graduates Paige Morningstar (2020-21), Abby Miller (2018-19) and Meg Morningstar (2014-15).

No other school in the state has won the award four times in its 27-year history.

“Mia is extremely well-deserving,” NA coach Russ Hoburg said. “We’ve been fortunate. Obviously, the success of the team may have played a factor in that. It’s an individual award, but it’s reflective of the team as a whole.”

Tuman led North Allegheny to a 20-1 record last season and a fifth consecutive PIAA Class 4A title in November. The 6-foot setter and outside hitter had 356 assists, 223 kills, 217 digs, 54 blocks and 30 service aces.

“We’ve graduated some big leaders and big personalities over the last couple of years,” Hoburg said. “Now Mia has stepped into that role. She’s our captain on the court.”

The Ohio State recruit started her junior season as an outside hitter, but to better the team’s chances, coaches shifted her to setter, the position she will play in college.

Tuman also sets for her club team.

“If you make a football analogy, your setter is kind of like the quarterback of your team,” Hoburg said. “It’s a place where the type of leadership attributes Mia has fit really well.”

The Gatorade award criteria include on-court success but also “high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character.” When announcing Tuman as the winner, award organizers noted she is a member of her school’s Key Club and Girls Only Leadership Development (GOLD) organization, and raised funds to benefit pediatric cancer research.

Tuman also is a top player on NA’s basketball team.

She is the daughter of former Steelers tight end Jerame Tuman. Her mother, Molly, was a standout college volleyball player at Kentucky who later played for the U.S. National Team and now serves as an assistant at North Allegheny.

Tuman is the ninth WPIAL girls volleyball player to win the award. The others are Mt. Lebanon’s Kate Begor (2009-10), Pine-Richland’s Jamel Nicholas (2005-06), Hopewell’s Christa Harmotto (2004-05), Greensburg Salem’s Tara Green (1998-99) and Baldwin’s Jen Flynn (1995-96).

The NA girls now have four Gatorade awards, and the Tigers could be in the running for more in the future.

“We have a lot of girls that we’re excited about,” Hoburg said. “One of the things that is special at NA is our younger players are practicing against some of the best players in the state every day. They don’t have their time to shine yet, but we have some people you’ll hear about for sure in the next couple of years.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny