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LADY TIGERS DOMINATE SENECA VALLEY, 3-0

Coach Dan Schall's Lady Tigers took control early and went on to a 3-0 victory over Seneca Valley at the Senior High gym on Tuesday night.  Good play by freshman Jackie Lang at the net and defensively by senior Grace Kimmich and junior Sydney Schwab paced the NA effort.

The Lady Tigers won the first game, 25-20, took the second, 25-19, and finished off the Raiders with a 25-9 pasting in the third and final game.  In game three, sophomore Caitlin Decker, junior Marissa Posteraro, and junior Christy Parks came off the bench to give solid contributions in the win.  Coach Dan Schall said, "We served and passed exceptionally well throughout the match; that, I feel, was the most important factor."

The win improved the NA section record to 2-1, the overall mark to 3-2 on the season.  The Lady Tigers will host Butler tomorrow night in another section contest.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:50 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  SENECA VALLEY - 0

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LADY TIGERS FALL TO #1 PINE-RICHLAND, 3-0

The Pine-Richland Rams showed why they are ranked #1 in the WPIAL as they defeated the Lady Tigers, 3-0, at Pine-Richland on Thursday night.  The Rams were led by Notre Dame recruit Jamel Nicholas while freshman Jackie Lang and junior Michele Osterrieder had five kills each to pace NA.

After Pine-Richland won game one, 25-14, the Lady Tigers came back to challenge the Rams in games two and three.  Head Coach Dan Schall said, "We played well in spurts, but playing in spurts will not get it done against a team as fundamentally sound as Pine-Richland."  The Rams took game two, 25-20, and game three, 25-19.  Lang had eight digs for NA and DS junior Marissa Posteraro played well in the back for the Lady Tigers.

The loss dropped the NA section record to 1-1, the overall mark to 2-2.  The Lady Tigers will be in action again on Tuesday when they host Seneca Valley in a section match.  The scheduled starting time is set for 7:30 pm in the Senior High gym.

MATCH SUMMARY
PINE-RICHLAND - 3  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

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LADY TIGERS WIN THREE STRAIGHT OVER SHALER

To listen to a replay of the match, click here!

Coach Dan Schall's Lady Tigers defeated the Shaler Area Titans, 3-0, in the section opener at the Senior High gym on Tuesday night.  Junior OH Sydney Schwab had nine kills while junior OH Michele Osterrieder posted eight to lead NA to the victory.  The Lady Tigers won the first game, 25-17, game two, 25-16, and held off a Shaler rally to win the third and final game, 25-22.

The Lady Tigers got off to a good start as they built an early 5-2 lead.  Hodnik started the game with an ace while Shaler committed four hitting errors in the early going.  A kill by freshman OH Jackie Lang and another Shaler mistake pushed the lead to 7-3 before the Titans answered to make it a 7-5 game.  A kill by senior OH Lisa Gleason and a left handed tip by junior setter Allyson Hodnik pushed the NA advantage to 10-7.  Sophomore MB Maria Nolan then scored on a kill and a block, and Hodnik served an ace to push the margin to 13-7.  After the Titans got two points on NA errors, Shaler returned the favor as the Lady Tigers took a 16-10 lead.  Both teams continued to commit both hitting and service errors before a kill by Schwab and another by Lang put NA on top, 19-13.  The Lady Tigers went on a 6-3 run to close out the victory.  Schwab had two kills and Gleason scored on a block to make it a 24-17 lead.  Gleason then finished off the Titans with a blast into open space as NA won game one, 25-17.

The Tigers settled down early in game two to take an 8-2 advantage.  Junior OH Michele Osterrieder came alive to score the first three points on a kill off the Shaler blockers, a block of a Titan overpass, and a cross-court blast.  Lang followed with another hit cross court as NA built a 4-0 advantage.  After Shaler gained two points on NA hitting errors, Nolan put away another Shaler overpass, Lang scored off the blockers, and Hodnik made a good dig to set another point before junior Jess Antosz answered for Shaler to cut the margin to 8-3.  Antosz continued to play well with a kill and a block as the Titans cut the lead to 9-6.  Osterrieder answered before Shaler came bakc to make it an 11-9 game behind a kill from sophomore Chelsea Kline.  A block by the Petrovich sisters cut it to 11-10, but Hodnik scored on another left hand tip to keep NA on top 12-11.  After both teams exchanged points, sophomore DS Alyssa Vukson took over behind the back line.  Vukson served eight straight NA points, including four aces, as the Lady Tigers took control of the game with a 22-12 lead.  After Shaler scored a pair of points, Osterrieder scored off the Titan blockers to make it 23-14.  Lang and Hodnik combined on a block before Gleason again put the Titans away as the Lady Tigers defeated Shaler, 25-16, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In game three after Shaler took an early 5-2 lead, the Tigers rallied to tie the game behind a Schwab block on a Titan overpass.  Shaler regained the lead on a block by sophomore Katie Geary and freshman Leah Petrovich, but the Tigers tied it again on a tip by Lang.  A kill by senior Christine Murphy and an NA service error put Shaler back on top, 9-7, before a Shaler error and left-handed tip by Hodnik tied the game again at 9-9.  A service ace by Leah Petrovich gave the Titans their last lead of the game at 11-10.  A kill off the blockers by Gleason tied the game at 12-12.  NA scored the next four points with Nolan and Lang leading the way as the Tigers took a 16-12 lead.  Shaler bounced back to tie the score at 16-16 behind the hitting of Antosz.  After Nolan found open space for a kill, Vukson served an ace and Lang put away another Shaler overpass to make it 19-16.  After an NA service error, Schwab scored two straight points on a kill and a block before junior Diana Petrovich answered with a kill down the line.  Three straight NA misplays allowed Shaler to tie the game at 21 before Schwab scored again off the Shaler front line blockers.  A kill by Gleason on a Shaler overpass and a Shaler hitting error made it 24-21.  Hodnik and Schwab combined to block for the final point as the Lady Tigers took game three, 25-22, and the match, three games to none.

It was a good overall performance for the Lady Tigers as the combined good passing with strong play at the net.  Hodnik continued to give the NA hitters good sets, and it paid off in a Lady Tiger victory.  For her efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Allyson Hodnik as the Player of the Match.  Vukson deserves special credit for her serving as she posted five aces.

The win gave NA a 1-0 record in section play, a 2-1 mark overall.  The Lady Tigers will travel to Pine-Richland tonight to meet the #1-ranked Rams in another section contest.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  SHALER AREA - 0

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#3 MT. LEBANON DEFEATS LADY TIGERS, 3-0

In three close games, the #3-ranked team in the PIAA, the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils, defeated the Lady Tigers, 3-0.  In a very competitive match in which each game could have gone either way, Lebo was able to prevail.  Senior Juliana Trout, an All-State selection last year and a Duke recruit, proved to be the difference down the stretch.

After the Blue Devils took game one, 25-21, the Lady Tigers forced Lebo to the limit before falling, 27-25, in game two.  The third and final game also went down to the wire with the Blue Devils holding on for a 25-23 victory.  Junior OH Michele Osterrieder led the way with eight kills while senior OH Lisa Gleason and senior MB Ellen Howarth added six kills each.  Howarth was injured and may be out for several weeks.  Freshman MB Jackie Lang and sophomore MB Maria Nolan had six blocks each.  Junior setter Allyson Hodnik recorded 22 assists for NA.

Coach Dan Schall said, "I was pleased with the resilience that we showed throughout the match, but I am very aware that there are aspects of our game that need to be improved before we can turn the corner in beating the top teams".  The Lady Tigers will play in the Shaler Tournament on Saturday with action getting under way at 9:00 am.

MATCH SUMMARY
MT. LEBANON - 3  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

The Lady Tigers will compete in the Shaler Invitational on Saturday.  Twenty-eight teams, including 17 from the WPIAL, will participate in the first regular season tournament.  There will be seven pools with four teams each.  The top 12 teams advance to the Gold bracket, the next 12 to the Silver bracket and the last four to the Bronze bracket.

NA will open section play next Tuesday when they host the Shaler Titans.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the match LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:50 pm.  Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

SHALER INVITATIONAL
Saturday, September 10, 2005

TOURNAMENT FIELD

* - Non-WPIAL Teams

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LADY TIGERS OPEN WITH 3-1 WIN
AT HAMPTON

Coach Dan Schall's Lady Tigers opened the 2005 season with a 3-1 non-section victory at Hampton on Wednesday night.  NA won game one, 25-16, dropped the second game, 25-22, and came back to win the next two, 25-18 and 25-11. 

The Tigers were passes by junior Michelle Osterrieder who had eleven kills, sophomore Maria Nolan who posted 11 blocks, senior Lisa Gleason with 7 kills, and sophomore Alyssa Vukson with six service aces.  According to Head Coach Dan Schall, "It was a characteristic first match with longer streaks of points from each team than you would see in a match later in the season." 

The Lady Tigers played well for the most part, but struggled when they committed unforced errors.  Senior OH Rachael Mancini played a stabilizing role as as passer and defensive player throughout the match.  After winning the first game, 25-16, NA committed hitting errors and receiving errors that cost them game two.  In the third and fourth games, the Lady Tigers rebounded to pull out the victory.

Coach Schall said, "Maria Nolan's blocking was tremendous throughout the match.  Her blocking and Alyssa Vukson's serving were momentum builders in the match."  NA will travel to Mt. Lebanon tonight for another non-section match against the Blue Devils.  Match time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

MATCH SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  HAMPTON - 1

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org