Shaler volleyball falls in opening round

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Senior outside hitter Jon Ramsey wanted to help set the standard for years to come for the Shaler volleyball program. Getting to the WPIAL Class AAA boys volleyball playoffs is no longer the goal moving forward.

The Titans — who fell to Baldwin, 3-2, on May 15 at North Allegheny in the first round of the playoffs — will want more.

“Now playoffs aren't just a goal, it's an expectations,” said Ramsey, who helped Shaler reach the playoffs for the first time in five seasons last year. “Anything less than making playoffs is a disappointment in our program. Within the next five years, we would like to see one if not multiple WPIAL championships.”

Ramsey, a Penn State Altoona commit, was disappointed the Titans couldn't duplicate reaching the second round for the second consecutive season. Shaler navigated a tough section to qualify for the playoffs.

Two teams — North Allegheny and Butler — received first-round byes, while Seneca Valley reached the quarterfinals with a 3-0 sweep of Latrobe.

“We prepare for tough matches night-in and night-out,” Shaler coach Paul Stadelman said. “We have no easy breaks in our schedule. We have no blow-off matches. We have nothing we can look forward to as a walk.”

The Titans, who finished 7-5 in section play and tied for third place with Seneca Valley, dug in and battled Baldwin.

The Titans just weren't crisp against the Highlanders.

“We didn't capitalize on our part of the game,” Ramsey said. “We had a lot of errors — not only defensive errors, but attacking errors — we were all over the place. We didn't control the ball on our half of the court like we have in previous games this season.”

This was also the first time Shaler had participated in a five-set match this season. Sophomore John Kenst thought the Titans had a hard time when they fell behind.

“I think things went awry when they got two, three in a row and we got down on ourselves,” Kenst said.

That wasn't typical for Shaler this season. The Titans were a gritty, defensive-minded team.

“We played liked we had nothing to lose,” Kenst said. “It was like other teams expected us to lose. There was no pressure on us, we wanted to put pressure on the other teams. We played with a fearless attitude.”

That attitude allowed the Titans to earn another trip back to the postseason.

Shaler delighted in long volleys.

Along the way, the Titans found a way to maintain their new tradition of marching to the postseason.

“We were able to frustrate a lot of teams,” Ramsey said. “They got frustrated. Usually, they want to go up and get kills and keep going. We kept sending the ball back, and that will tire them out. We condition more than other teams, and it's obvious when games are close.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler