WPIAL Girls Volleyball Quarterfinals Recaps 2016

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 | 12:32 AM

When the higher seeds win a lot in a tournament, they refer to it as ‘chalk’. Thus far, there has been chalk talk a plenty as the postseason continues to be void of upsets except for a few exceptions. 16 of the 16 teams headed to the district Final Four were top four seeds in their class. One big exception is the top-seed in Class 4-A was ousted in Round Two. Here are summaries from the 16 Quarterfinals on Tuesday with all of the matches available on archive on The Network.

A special thanks to Andy Stanko, Cory Campano, Mike Azadian, Kevin Zielmanski, Sam Hall, James Dotson, Sean Meyers, Lou Rood, Greg Kuntz, Lee Mohn, Randy Gore, Sean Saputo, Rob McKinney and Kyle Dawson for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS 4-A Quarterfinals:

Baldwin Highlanders 3 – North Allegheny Tigers 2 
The eighth-seeded Baldwin Highlanders upended the top-seeded North Allegheny Tigers, 3-2, on Tuesday night in the Class AAAA quarterfinals. The Highlanders, the two-time reigning WPIAL champions, defeated NA by set scores of 25-21, 17-25, 16-25, 25-18 and 15-10. Senior Maddi Sgattoni, a Naval Academy recruit, led the way for Baldwin with a game-high 25 kills. The first set was a see-saw affair that set the stage for an exciting five-set contest. Both teams traded barbs in the opening set and the score was tied 17-17 before Baldwin pulled away late thanks to six kills from Sgattoni. Hoping to avenge losses to Baldwin in the WPIAL finals the last two season, the Tigers answered back in set two thanks in part to five kills from Duquesne University recruit, Maria Mosbacher. Junior Kayla Dinkins was outstanding for NA and added three kills and four blocks in a 25-17 win for the Tigers. North Allegheny received another tremendous outing from Dinkins in set three with four kills and a block as she clogged the middle of the net. Maddy Mueller and Mika Logan added four kills apiece in a 25-16 victory for NA. The Tigers had Baldwin on the ropes but the Highlanders forced a fifth and decisive set with a 25-18 win in set four. Baldwin jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fifth set and Sgattoni made sure it stood up with four kills in a 15-10 win to close out a 3-2 match victory. The Highlanders advance to the WPIAL semifinals to face the Bethel Park Black Hawks on Thursday night.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 3 – Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 1 
After both teams pulled upsets in the first round, Bethel Park and Mount Lebanon met at Baldwin High School in a 4A Girls Quarterfinal match. The Black Hawks advance to the semifinals with a 3 sets to 1 victory over the Blue Devils. The first set was a back and forth affair that was tied at 10 until Bethel Park went on a 5 point run to take the lead. Play continued rather evenly from that point until Mount Lebanon made a run to pull within 2 at 24-22. After a timeout to stop the momentum, Bethel closed out the set with two straight points to win 25-22 despite 6 kills in that set by Senior Katherine Peters of Mount Lebanon. The Blue Devils started the second set much better as they raced out to a 6-2 lead. Bethel Park went on short run to tie the score at 6 and then played well defensively, winning the second set with the same 25-22 score. Down by 5 in the third set 11-6, the Blue Devils rallied behind the service of Senior Georgia Lawrence to take the lead that they never relinquished, winning the third set 25-23. With constant encouragement by Senior Kaytie Zeiler, the fourth and final set was dominated by Bethel Park as the Blue Devils never could stage any runs, only collecting one or two points at a time. Tied at 5, Bethel made a run for an 11-5 lead behind the setting of Sophomore Emma Puzausky. Junior Erin Sullivan served a rally late in the set that really broke the spirit of Mount Lebanon as Bethel closed out the match, winning the third set 25-17, advancing the 12th seeded Black Hawks into the semifinals.   Scoring Summary:  #13 Mount Lebanon  22-22-25-17 – #12 Bethel Park 25-25-23-25

Seneca Valley Raiders 3 – Upper St. Clair Panthers 0 
It didn’t take long for Seneca Valley to establish dominance in its Quarterfinal playoff match-up against Upper St. Clair, as the Raiders upended the Panthers by a final score of 25-13 in set one and ultimately swept the Panthers 3-0. Upper St. Clair would not go away that easy, when in the second set, the Panthers, led by junior Isabelle Walsh, battled courageously. The second set was the best of the night for Upper St. Clair, clawing back multiple times to tie the Raiders, but Walsh’s nine kills in set two weren’t enough as the Raiders won set two 26-24. Set three saw Seneca Valley jump out to a large lead early and while Upper St. Clair put together a quality stretch towards the end, it just wasn’t enough and the Raiders won the set 25-18 and clinched their spot in the WPIAL 4A Semi-Finals. The well-oiled machine that was the Seneca Valley offense, was led by junior setter Madison McDonough. On the evening, McDonough totaled, unofficially, 34 assists, 4 kills, a service ace and a number of digs. McDonough’s quality setting was key for the Raiders outside and middle hitters as big kill numbers were seen by senior Tatum Poirier (10), Maria Alfano (8) and Emily Devlin (9). For Upper St. Clair, it was led by Walsh, who had 16 kills, as well as senior Kindler Norman with 18 assists and senior Lilly Drucis who kept the Panthers in it with an incredible display in the back row with a large number of digs. Upper St. Clair finishes its season after the quarterfinal appearance and graduates five seniors. As for Seneca Valley, it moves on to the semi-finals to face the Hempfield Spartans on Thursday at a time and location yet to be determined.

Hempfield Spartans 3 – Armstrong River Hawks 1
After three straight years falling in the quarterfinals, Hempfield Area appeared to be headed to the same fate again after Armstrong dominated the opening set at Norwin High School. The Spartans responded by taking the next three sets, though, advancing to the semifinals in the Class 4A playoffs. Hempfield Area prevailed 13-25, 25-18, 25-15, 26-24. The No. 6 Riverhawks came out of the gate strong, as Armstrong never trailed in the first set. The combination of the Riverhawks’ strong play, combined with a multitude of miscues by third-seeded Hempfield created the lopsided score. The Spartans quickly put that shortcoming behind them, though, jumping to a 3-0 lead to begin the second set. The Spartans held an advantage until Armstrong deadlocked the play at 11-11, and the Riverhawks later held a 15-14 edge. The Spartans took the next seven points, though, and ultimately evened the match. The third set was a reversal of fortune from the first set, as Hempfield Area never trailed, and cruised to a win. The fourth, and final set, appeared to be a golden opportunity for the Riverhawks to draw even. Armstrong gained the advantage at 7-6, and never relinquished that lead all the way until it had a set-point chance, at 24-22. The Spartans refused to surrender, however, and rallied to notch four-consecutive points to take the match. Paramount among the standouts for Hempfield was senior hitter Gabby Holmberg, who not only racked up kills, but was devastating on the service line, as well. She was joined by Claire Staines, Kiersten Schade and Gabby Kuhns, who all paced the Spartans. Across the net, Armstrong received strong contributions from Kenzie Lasher, Hannah Bowman, and libero Ali Bowers. While the Armstrong season comes to an end, Hempfield Area will face Seneca Valley on Thursday, at a location and time to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS 3-A Quarterfinals:

West Allegheny Indians 3 – Central Valley Warriors 0 
Central Valley held tough throughout the entire match, but the strength of top-seed West Allegheny was too much for the Lady Warriors to overcome. The Lady Indians used big runs late in each set en route to their straight sets victory (25-19, 25-22, 25-17) and earn a berth in the Class AAA Semifinals. Central Valley kept the score close in the first set at 19-18, but West Allegheny rallied to score six of the final seven points to win the opening frame. The back-and-forth play continued in the second set until the Lady Indians broke a 21-21 deadlock with four of the final five points in the set. A 12-5 run to end the third set wrapped things up for West Allegheny. Central Valley’s Tatum LeDonne led the way with match-high totals in kills (14) and blocks (6).  Indians’ Setter Julia Falcioni was near flawless in setting up her hitters Allison Koester (13 kills), Morgan Ziolkowski (12 kills), and Katie Martelli (7 kills, 5 blocks) all night. West Allegheny will take on #5 South Fayette, a five-set victor over Montour, in the semifinals on Thursday night at a site and time to be determined.

South Fayette Lions 3 – Montour Spartans 2 
At West Allegheny on Tuesday night, it was truly a see-saw affair between the Lions and Spartans, as the two section foes battled for the right to move on the Class 3A semifinals Thursday. Each of the eventual five sets went back and forth throughout the entire set, with neither team able to truly dominate even for small stretches. The teams traded points back and forth in the first set, and with South Fayette leading 23-21, the Spartans ran off four straight points to win the set 25-23 and take a 1-0 set lead. The play in the second set wasn’t much different, but a combined 10-3 run for South Fayette near the outset of the set resulted in the Lions tying things up at 1-1 after a 25-20 set two win. With set three tied at 17 after South Fayette was called for a violation, the Spartans grabbed seven points to SF’s two after that violation and eventually took the third set by a final of 25-21 with a chance to close it out in the fourth. The Lions had other ideas, trying to stave off elimination. Montour raced out to a 7-2 lead, before the Lions ran off 10 of the next 12 points, including eight in a row at one point, to take the lead and it didn’t relinquish the lead in the set, winning the set to force a first-to-15 fifth set, 25-19. If things weren’t interesting before the fifth set, they were that much more interesting in the fifth. Montour scored the first two points, South Fayette scored six of the next seven, before trading points with the Spartans until it came down to a long attack out of bounds by the Spartan front line that gave the Lions the win at 15-11, moving the Lions on to the quarterfinals, while Montour’s season ends a round short of its 2015 run. For the Spartans, the defensive charge was led by Mia Di Clemente. The junior libero had more than 20 digs defensively and was important in setting for the Spartan attack as well. Offensively, Rosina Esposito and Amalia Esposito led the attack, both registering more than 15 kills, unofficially. The Lions, just as in the first round win, got huge contributions at the net from sophomore Olivia Goerdt, who had some bigtime blocks and kills on attacks as well, junior outside hitter Haley Altemus, who unofficially racked up 20-plus killsm while Aubrey Hetland and Madison Johnston were keys defensively. Hetland also got in on the action offensively and at the service line. South Fayette now meets #1 West Allegheny on Thursday in the Class 3A semfiinals, a team that won SF’s section by going undefeated, so it’s a stiff task for the Lions to move to the title game. The match will be on the MSA Sports Network, Thursday night.

Hampton Talbots 3 – Mars Fighting Planets 0 
2 rivals in close proximity to each other, separated by one school district, faced off at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic with a WPIAL Semifinal spot and a berth in the PIAA State Playoffs both hanging in the balance.  Even though it was a clean sweep by the Talbots, Mars made each game competitive.  The first game of the match ended with a 25-22 decision as Hampton MH’s Kali Kolbert and Anastasia Russ set the tone with their kills.  They were largely engaged in battle along the front court with the Planets’ Julia Zimmer and Julia Frye. Hampton did not pull away in Game 2 until they and the Planets were tied at 16.  The Talbots scored 9 of the last 11 points to take the game, 25-18, and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.  Neither team could get a distinct advantage in Game 3 as Mars had its back to the wall.  The 7th-seeded Planets had a lead as high as 5, but the Talbots fought their way back as both teams traded the lead.  The game got to the point where both teams were deadlocked at 24, and by rule, a game is determined by at least 2 points, but Mars could not stop Hampton as a kill by Russ eliminated the Planets, 26-24, and a 3-0 victory in the match.  As if one section rival was not bad enough for the Talbots, they face another conference foe in the Semis as the 3rd-seeded Knoch Knights will try to thwart a possible Championship.  Despite who wins that matchup, both section rivals’ seasons will continue as both teams have qualified for the PIAA State Playoffs at the conclusion the WPIAL Championships.

Knoch Knights 3 – Chartiers Valley Colts 1 
The Knoch Knights survived an upset bid from Charters Valley and went on to defeat the Colts 3-1 and move on to the quarterfinals.  Knoch dropped the first game 25-18.  The Colts scored the last 8 points of the set behind Janee Rodavich three kills.  Knoch would go on to win the next three games 25-15 25-21 26-24.  Sarah Amahizer led the way with 12 kills and 3 blocks on the night,  Charters Valley was led by Jane Rodavich’s 21 kills.  Knoch will now move onto the semifinals on Thursday night.

WPIAL CLASS 2-A Quarterfinals:

Beaver Bobcats 3 – Neshannock Lancers 0 
The top-seed Lady Bobcats jumped to a 15-2 lead in the opening set and never looked back en route to a straight sets victory over Neshannock (25-11, 25-15, 25-19).  Junior Macy McElhaney completely dominated for Beaver, especially in the first set. She registered 9 of her match-high 19 kills in that opening stanza.   The Lady Lancers had no answer for McElhaney , and also struggled with serve receive against the Lady Bobcats. Madison Cicconi had five of her squad’s nine service aces on the evening. Neshannock came out strong in the second set, jumping to a 7-2 advantage, but Beaver fought back with a 13-3 run to take control. After a back-and-forth start to the final set, Beaver used an 11-1 run to put away the Lancers and secure a trip to the Class AA Semifinals.  The Lancers’ season ends, but they have a talented group of sophomores and juniors to return for a potential playoff push next season. Beaver advances to face 4-seed Shenango. on Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

Shenango Wildcats 3 – Serra Catholic Eagles 2 
It was a battle of the undefeated in Class 2A girls volleyball last night at West Allegheny High School. The Serra Catholic Eagles faced off against The Shenango Wildcats but unfortunately for Serra Catholic it’s undefeated season came to an end. Shenango won in five sets and had a comanding lead early with a 2-0 set lead. The resilient Eagles battled back, winning the next two sets but couldn’t get the job done in the fifth set. Despite the loss, Serra Catholic Outside Hitter Lauren Kolenik performed well offensively for the Eagles, racking up, well over, 30 kills. Shenango was solid as a team, and incorporated its bench well throughout the contest. The Wildcats were lead offensively by Senior Middle Hitter Jacqui Baker and Senior Outside Hitter Marie Gonsar, who posted double-digit kills. This is the second year in a row Shenango has eliminated Serra Catholic from the playoffs.  Shenango will move on to a semifinal matchup against #1 ranked Beaver.

Freeport Yellow Jackets 3 – Seton-LaSalle Rebels 0 
The Freeport Yellowjackets continued their defense of their WPIAL Girls AA volleyball title with a 3-0 match victory over the Seton LaSalle Rebels at Cardinal Wuerhl North Catholic High School on Tuesday night. Freeport has won the WPIAL title three times in the last 6 years and is trying for their first back to back title. They will face the third seeded Avonworth Antelopes in the semi finals on Thursday November 3rd at a site and time to be determined. In Tuesday’s match game one was tight as the Yellowjackets held only a 12-9 lead mid way through the first set. But they would dominate the late stages of the game scoring 13 of the final 17 points to easily win game one 25-13. Game two was tighter as the Rebels fought hard and led 19-16 late in the set. However Freeport a veteran team again was better in the late stages scoring 9 of the final 11 points to win 25-21 and take a 2-0 match lead. In game three it was a tough nail biting game. Each team would take a led and go on a run, the other would come back. No one could take control. Seton led at 10-9 and held that lead late going up 17-14. The Yellowjackets wouldn’t be denied coming back to tie it at 21-21, then score 4 of the last 5 points to win the game 25-22 and the match 3-0. Freeport has a lot of depth rotating 10 girls throughout the game. Unlike in years past they don’t have that one big star talent. In fact unlike years past they don’t have a ton of height. What they do have is consistency, great defense, and a strong set of senior leaders. Maggie Ward, Abree Cowan, Maddie Christy, Kristie Radvan, Katie Zingaro, and Hannah Conner all have played a part in past championships. Now they are the leaders of a strong number two seed headed to the semi finals.

Avonworth Antelopes 3 – Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 1 
The #3 seed Avonworth Antelopes took down the #6 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojanettes 3 sets to 1 on Tuesday night. The Antelopes seemed to consitently find ways to pull ahead at crucial times as North Catholic remained focused and competitive throughout each set. Having seen each other twice already prior to this match, the teams knew each other very well and the offenses were able to pick their spots on the court. The first set saw Avonworth win 25-19 in a very competitive contest.  Neither team had a player that stood out more than the other. This was a straight up team battle and the largest lead in the entire set was seven points in favor of Avonworth. North Catholic’s Sammi Robb actually led the set in kills with three, but that was not enough to hold off the Antelopes. Set two was a hard fought battle that the Trojanettes came out on top 25-20. Shannon Spangler had 4 kills and the stellar passing from Sarah Parey contributed to the offense throughout the evening. The lone set victory did not rattle Avonworth though. They had beaten North Catholic twice in the regular season and relied on that confidence to turn the match back in their favor in sets 3 and 4. Avonworth finished off North Catholic 25-18 and 25-19 in the final two sets. Stellar play in the middle from Erin Williams and Makenna Gavin gave the Antelopes a tall and physical edge as they consistently altered shots and had 8 and 10 kills respectively.  Others contributed also. Whitney Brown seemed to assist on nearly every kill. She finished the night with 22 assists and her leadership was demonstrated by her hustling play. Left hander Emily Ferketic also contributed with 7 kills, which all came when the team needed a spark. North Catholic’s season comes to end, and they finished the season 0-3 vs Avonworth, but they most certainly did not go down without fighting. Every match was close and the Trojanettes never gave up. Avonworth’s season will continue onto the semifinals Thursday night as they take on the #2 Seed Freeport Yellow Jackets at a site and time to be determined. Key Stats: CWNC -1 Elizabeth Studebaker – 5 kills, 5 Sarah Parey – 9 kills 20 assists 7 digs.8 Sammi Robb – 5 kills 3 blocks, 9 Shannon Spangler – 10 kills…Avonworth 11 Olivia Scrabis – 6 kills, 16 Katie Jo Smith – 21 digs, 17 Emily Ferketic – 7 kills, 23 Whitney Brown – 2 kills 22 assists 3 blocks 3 digs, 24 Makenna Gavin – 10 kills 2 blocks 30 Erin Williams – 8 kills 3 blocks 3 digs

WPIAL CLASS 1-A Quarterfinals:

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 3 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 0 
Top-seed Grrensburg Central Catholic swept past #8 Carmichaels Tuesday night at Norwin High School to once again advance to the district Semifinals. It is the fifth straight trip to the Final Four for the Centurions who won it all in 2012 and 2014. The Centurions cruised to three victories by scores of 25-7, 25-10 and 25-15. Mikayla Bisignani led GCC with 15 kills as the Centurions advance to play Fort Cherry Thursday in a Semifinals match at a site to be determined.

Fort Cherry Rangers 3 – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 2 
The Fort Cherry Rangers overcame a 2 set deficit behind the strong play of Cleveland State commit Hannah Greene. Green notched over 20 kills on the evening and disrupted OLSH at the net all evening long. The Chargers took a 2-0 lead in the match behind impressive offensive efforts from sophomore Katie Tarasovich and senior Rachael Leininger. The Chargers used a six-point run to extend a 13-11 lead to a 19-11 lead and didn’t look back in the first set. In the second set OLSH controlled the play early on and built a 16-8 lead. The Chargers went 24-18, but Fort Cherry staved off five straight set points to cut the lead to 24-23 OLSH. However, the Chargers put the set away on their next attempt and went up 2-0. Fort Cherry used three runs of at least five points to take the third set 25-12. One stretch included Greene with a block, a kill, a block, and another kill for four straight FC points. In the fourth set, OLSH struggled to keep service and only had two runs of over a point the entire set. FC sent the match to a third and final set with a 25-12 fourth set score. Senior Abigail Cooper served up back-to-back aces on her way to five straight points at the service line to help Fort Cherry take a 6-1 lead to open the fifth set. The Rangers dominated the final set and came away with a 15-3 win to take the match 3-2. Freshman Jordan Hartner registered six aces on the evening for FC and Tarasovich had 12 kills to pace OLSH. The Rangers advance to the class 1-A WPIAL semifinals to face #1 Greensburg Central Catholic.

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 3 – California Trojans 0 
Bishop Canevin eliminated the seven seed California 3-0 at Baldwin high school Tuesday night to move on to the semi finals in Girls 1 A volleyball. Canevin , trying to advance to the WPIAL Championship for a fifth straight year won 27-25, 25-17, and 25-15. California hung tough in the first set behind strong play from Junior middle hitter Annelise Gillespie at 6′ 1” one she picked up several kills,and senior outside hitter Kylie Trusky. Trusky was the most athletic player on the floor for California and all night long. But Canevin was a little deeper. Freshman setter Maddie Maziarz set up hitters Alexa Malloy, Kylie Airesman and Paris Morinville time and time again as Bishop Canevin cruised after the first set. Junior Tamara Blue had a monster night defensively for the Crusaders with 11 blocks, several of those coming at the expense of Gillespie to whom she was giving away at least three inches in height. Bishop Canevin will try to get to their 5th straight title match by taking on Frazier Thursday night in the semi-finals right here on the MSA Sports Network.

Frazier Commodores 3 – Vincentian Academy Royals 1 
The #3 seed Frazier Commodores defeated the #6 seed Vincentian Academy Royals 3-1 in a WPIAL 1A Girls Volleyball Quarterfinal match at Peters Twp. Tuesday evening.  Frazier took the first set fairly easily 25-14, then came from behind 22-18 to prevail 26-24 in the second set.  Vincentian and Frazier battled back and forth in 3rd set even reaching the identical Vincentian 22-18 lead late in the set.  This time the Royals were able to hang on for a 25-23 win and cut the Frazier lead to 2 sets to 1.  The 4th set was all Frazier though as the Commodores jumped out to a 6-1 lead early and never looked back in route to a 25-10 match clinching victory.  Frazier was led by Freshman Skye Eicher who recorded 14 kills, followed by Senior Hannah Fell with 12 kills and Senior Annya Kossol who had 7 kills and 4 aces during the 4 set match.  Another Freshmnan Logan Hartman, who recorded 3 aces herself, keyed numerous runs for the Commodores with her wicked jump serve which gave the Royals problems all match long. In fact it was the jump serves of Frazier that keyed the victory for Frazier causing numerous unforced errors by the Royals. Vincentian was led by a trio of Juniors, Katelyn Niggemeyer had 6 kills, Marina Eyster had 5 kills and Caroline Elliot had 7 kills.  In the end though it was the serving of Frazier that keyed their victory and sets up a semi-final match with the #2 seed Bishop Canevin Crusaders Thursday.