Penn-Trafford knocks off 3rd-seeded Latrobe in Class 3A boys volleyball thriller

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, May 15, 2025 | 10:46 PM

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Penn-Trafford veteran boys volleyball coach Jim Schall looked exhausted after Thursday’s WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal against No. 3 Latrobe, and he did not even play.

But the cagey coach had his team ready for a thrilling match as his No. 6-seeded Warriors stunned the Section 2-3A champs, 3-2, by scores of 21-25, 28-26, 25-18, 18-25 and 16-14.

The Warriors (12-6), who lost twice to the Wildcats (16-2) in the regular season, will face No. 2 Seneca Valley in the semifinals Tuesday.

Schall said the match swung in the second game when his team started to serve better.

“Once we did that, we put them on their heels,” Schall said. “I am really proud of how we played. It was a tough match, and we put everything we had into it. I guess I did, too.

“In Game 1, we did not give them much trouble with our serves. We served better starting in Game 2. We had some guys who really served well. We started putting them in some tough spots.”

Latrobe dominated the first game behind the setting of senior Eric Bisignani and the hitting of Owen Ward.

Penn-Trafford swung the momentum its way in Game 2 early, but Latrobe battled back and tied the score at 25. The Wildcats actually took a 26-25 lead before the Warriors, behind kills by Caiden McDonald and Nick Laskey, rallied to tie the match, 1-1.

Schall felt Owen Gisi played well up front in all five games with his blocking ability.

The teams split the next two games, Penn-Trafford winning 25-18 and Latrobe answering 25-18, to set up the thrilling Game 5.

“This is playoff volleyball,” Latrobe coach Drew Vosefski said. “We had beaten them twice, but there is an old saying that when you get punched to the face, how much do you punch back? They punched back.

“Beating a team for a third time bothered me, but I am not going to make excuses. They played well, and I think we got the short of the stick on a few calls that we should have gotten.”

In a fifth game, the first team to 15, win by two, moves on. The game was close and went back and forth.

Penn-Trafford took a 12-10 lead, but the Wildcats tied it 12-12. P-T went back up 14-12 as Gisi, McDonald and setter Natheniel Rugh started making plays.

Latrobe senior Luke Fiore tied the score at 14 with a service ace, but the next serve sailed long, setting up the final point and McDonald finished it with a block.

“That was a tremendous team we beat,” Schall said. “They have an excellent setter and hitter. But we stepped up. I knew we would have to be really good, and I thought we’d be in the ballgame.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe, Penn-Trafford