South Fayette beats Latrobe in WPIAL volleyball semis
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Tuesday, November 1, 2022 | 9:19 PM
South Fayette’s Sydney Westfall blocks the shot of Latrobe’s Ryley Quinn during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Ryley Quinn and Paige Watson block the shot of South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Paige Watson gets a kill past South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Emma Blair blocks the shot of South Fayette’s Bella Bowers during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
South Fayette’s Livia Chambers celebrates with the bench after coming out of the game against Latrobe during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux spikes between Latrobe’s Paige Watson and Lily Fenton during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Giovanna Jones gets a dig against South Fayette during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Maya Krehlik spikes against South Fayette’s Noelle Bair during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
South Fayette celebrates beating Latrobe in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
South Fayette’s Sydney Westfall reaches high for a spike against Latrobe’s Lily Fenton during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Emma Blair and Maya Krehlik block the shot of South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
South Fayette’s Ava Leroux spikes against Latrobe’s Paige Watson and Lily Fenton during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
Latrobe’s Maya Krehlik wins a point off South Fayette’s Noelle Bair during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
South Fayette’s Ava Leroux spikes on Latrobe’s Lily Fenton during the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday.
It’s been 15 years since the South Fayette girls volleyball team last played for a WPIAL championship.
But that drought will come to an end Saturday at Robert Morris University’s UPMC Events Center.
The Lions punched their ticket to the Class 3A championship match and a matchup with No. 1 North Catholic thanks to a 3-1 victory over Latrobe on Tuesday at Gateway High School’s Furrie Sports Complex.
“This feels really good,” said middle hitter Ava Leroux, one of five seniors ready to help take South Fayette to the final.
“We’ve definitely worked really hard for this. We’ve been focused in practice. We’re excited to be going to the championship game.”
South Fayette came in as the No. 10 seed after finishing in a three-way tie for second in Section 2 with Moon and Trinity.
The Lions started their run to the title match with a five-set win over No. 7 Armstrong, and they then scored a 3-1 triumph over No. 2 Hampton.
On Tuesday, South Fayette took the first two games 26-24 and 25-22 before Latrobe rallied to take the third 26-24.
The Lions built a 19-5 lead in Set 4 and clinched the match with a 25-12 victory.
“Our section was really hard, and I think we’ve kind of been through the ringer,” South Fayette coach Scott Sundgren said.
“We learned to fight through the section, and we had a really tough nonsection schedule. I think those things really built that grit and desire. We saw that when we fought back from down 2-0 to Armstrong in the first round. The girls are finding themselves and finding a groove.”
Despite the loss, its first of the season in 19 games, Latrobe is not done. All four semifinalists in Class 3A will continue on in the PIAA playoffs.
“There were a lot of tears after the match, but I told them they had nothing to cry about,” said Latrobe coach Drew Vosefski, who helped guide the Wildcats to the Section 5 title and wins over Franklin Regional (3-0) and No. 6 Mars (3-2) in the first two playoff rounds.
“This team has battled all year, just like they did tonight. They’ve done things this year that no other team in Latrobe history has done. Now, it is time to get back to work because we’re in the state playoffs, and anything can happen.”
After South Fayette built the 14-point lead in set four, Latrobe scored six straight points to close to within 19-11. But a combined block from freshman Juliette Leroux and senior Morgan Saulle stopped the Wildcats run and set the Lions up to close out the set.
The younger Leroux followed with a block and a kill to put South Fayette up 22-12. A pair of serves from senior Livia Chambers that were not returned, and a hit from junior Sydney Westfall, provided the match-clinching points.
“Coach (Sundgren) just said to not lose momentum, keep hitting, keep swinging, stay strong on serves and good things will happen,” Ava Leroux said.
Latrobe led for most of the first set — its largest lead was five at 12-7 — but it was not able to create separation.
South Fayette stayed close and eventually drew even at 18-18. A kill from Saulle gave the Lions their first lead at 19-18.
It was back and forth the rest of the set with South Fayette leading 23-21 before Latrobe came back to tie it.
Saulle served at 24-24 and delivered one over the net that wasn’t returned. A Latrobe return that landed out of bounds clinched the first set for South Fayette at 26-24.
Set 2 saw South Fayette jump out early and build leads of 10-6 and 16-12 before Latrobe worked its way back to 16-15. But the Lions would not relinquish the lead.
At 24-22, Ava Leroux delivered a resounding kill to end the set and put South Fayette up 2-0.
She finished the set with seven kills and two blocks.
With its back against the wall, Latrobe came out strong in Set 3. Senior middle blocker Paige Watson delivered a hit that wasn’t returned by the South Fayette defense, and the Wildcats led 11-4.
South Fayette used an 11-4 run of its own to tie the score. It later sent Latrobe to the brink with a 24-23 advantage.
But a two-many-hits foul, a hit that sailed long from Lions senior Bella Bowers and a return miscue on South Fayette allowed the Wildcats to take Set 3.
“This team has always been resilient,” Vosefski said. “We’ve had a lot of five-set matches, and we’ve come back to win them all. Tonight just wasn’t our night. We are still working through rotations because of an injury, but I thought the people who stepped in tonight did one heck of a job.”
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: Latrobe, South Fayette
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