PIAA Class AA volleyball finals primer: North Catholic vs. North Penn-Liberty

By: Michael Love
Friday, November 15, 2019 | 5:20 PM

North Penn-Liberty (22-0) vs. North Catholic (22-1)

1 p.m. Saturday, Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg

Coaches: Jennifer Nawri, North Penn-Liberty; Amanda Fetter, North Catholic

Players to watch: Maddison Minyo, senior, middle hitter/outside hitter, North Penn-Liberty; Dominique Felix, senior, outside hitter, North Catholic.

How they got here: District 4 champion North Penn-Liberty defeated District 2 champion Holy Redeemer, 3-0; District 11 champion Panther Valley, 3-0; and District 3 champion Trinity, 3-0. WPIAL runner-up North Catholic defeated District 10 champion Corry, 3-0; District 6 champion Bald Eagle Area, 3-1; and WPIAL champion Freeport, 3-0.

Set points: North Penn-Liberty is in the PIAA title match for the first time in program history. It is the furthest a team from the school has gone in any sport. The Mountaineers have lost only one game to a Pennsylvania team this season. They needed to go four games to top Wellsboro in the District 4 finals. North Penn-Liberty upended Holy Redeemer in the first round after losing to the District 2 power and 2018 PIAA runner-up in the first round the past three years. … Senior Maddison Minyo has surpassed 750 kills for her career, and junior Charisma Grega is closing in on 750 kills. Seniors Grace Tice and Lizzi Welch each have recorded 100 blocks for the season. Senior setter JoAnne McNamara also is key to the North Penn-Liberty attack. … North Catholic avenged its loss to Freeport in the WPIAL title match with a 3-0 sweep of the Yellowjackets in Tuesday’s semifinals at North Allegheny. Felix led the Trojanettes with 15 kills, including six in the third and final game. Senior middle hitter Ava Whitesel added 11 kills, and senior right side Libby Palmer added seven. … North Catholic also will play for a state championship for the first time in program history. The Trojanettes have won nine of 10 games in this year’s state playoffs. North Catholic guaranteed a first-time state champion after it stopped 2018 PIAA titlist Bald Eagle Area, 3-1, in the quarterfinals. North Catholic’s run in last year’s PIAA tournament ended in the quarterfinals.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: North Catholic