Boys' Volleyball Game Summaries

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The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team opened the 2017 season with a victory over Central York for the championship at the NA Invitational in late March. The Tigers were hoping to finish the season the same way it began, with another win over Central York. The storybook finish was not to be, however, as the Tigers lost their only match of the season on Saturday in the PIAA Class AAA championship, a 3-1 defeat to the Panthers from District 3.

North Allegheny started strong and won the opening set convincingly, 25-20. Junior Canyon Tuman posted four kills and Luke Visgitis totaled three kills and a pair of blocks. Tuman and teammate Jason Stiefvater hammered out a team-best 12 kills apiece.

The second set belonged to Central York as the Panthers clawed to a 16-9 lead and fended off the Tigers’ late-game efforts for a 25-21 win. Junior standout Cole Johnson tallied three kills and two aces in the second set but the Division I recruit was just getting warmed up. Johnson hammered out eight kills in the third set as Central York claimed a 25-22 victory.

In the fourth set, North Allegheny fought tooth-and-nail with Central York and held a 20-18 lead. Senior Seth Russell, a Keane University recruit, delivered three kills in the final set on his way to a nine-kill performance for the Tigers. However, Johnson reasserted himself for the Panthers in the late stages and propelled Central York to a 25-23 win to lock up a 3-1 triumph over North Allegheny and claim the PIAA Class AAA title.

For North Allegheny, Luke Visgitis totaled double figures in kills with 10 and added four blocks. Senior Danny Lebovitz garnered a team-best 22 digs and setter M.J. Barton handed out 30 assists.

The North Allegheny Sports Network selected the North Allegheny seniors of Alex Sprys, Luke Visgitis, M.J. Barton, Seth Russell, James Nolan, Eric Visgitis, Josh Duch and Danny Lebovitz as the Wright Automotive Players of the Game for a fantastic 2017 season.

Central York captures its seventh PIAA crown and finishes the year with a perfect 21-0 mark. Appearing in the PIAA title match for a record 15^th time, North Allegheny ends the season with a 22-1 overall record. Congratulations to head coach Dan Schall, the coaching staff and the entire North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team for another successful 2017 campaign.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Central York, 6-10-17

Appearing in the state’s final four for the seventh time in the last 11 seasons, the North Allegheny Tigers punched their ticket to the PIAA championship match with a 3-1 triumph over Central Dauphin on Tuesday night. The Tigers not only overcame the District 3 runners-up but also a bus breakdown on the way to Altoona High School. The NA volleyballers persevered against all foes, man and mechanical alike, to advance to the PIAA championship for a record 15^th time.

Winners of one state crown in 2009, Central Dauphin was vying for another trip to the PIAA championship and had North Allegheny on the ropes in the first set with a 24-21 lead. Following a timeout by head coach Dan Schall, the Tigers rolled off five unanswered points to win the set. Jake Barber started the 5-0 run with a kill, followed by a well-placed tip by Canyon Tuman to cut the score to 24-23. Tuman and Eric Visgitis combined for a block assist to tie the set at 24-24. Following an error by Central Dauphin, junior Jason Stiefvater capped off the sensational finish with a kill to give NA a 26-24 victory.

The second set again saw the Tigers stage late-game heroics. Tied 19-19, North Allegheny rolled off the next six consecutive points to claim a 25-19 win. Tuman and Seth Russell provided four and three kills, respectively, in the set.

Held in check in the first two games, Central Dauphin senior standout Tyler Flowers blossomed in the third set and powered the Rams to a 25-21 victory in set three. Flowers flourished with six kills in the set after posting five kills in the first two sets combined.

Flowers’ southpaw swing helped the Rams take a 22-20 lead in the fourth game as CD threatened to force a fifth and decisive set. However, as they did in the first two sets, the Tigers responded with more late-game magic and scored the next five straight points for a 25-22 victory to clinch the match and secure a berth in the state championship on Saturday. Senior Luke Visgitis delivered several key blocks in the final set to lift NA to victory. On the night, Luke Visgitis posted 10 kills and a team-high five blocks on his way to Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.

Eric Visgitis notched nine kills and four blocks, while Tuman totaled a team-best 13 kills and added seven digs. Senior libero Danny Lebovitz contributed a team-leading 18 digs on the defensive end and setter M.J. Barton handed out 35 assists.

North Allegheny improves to 22-0 overall and will face the champions from District 3, Central York, in the PIAA title match on Saturday at Penn State University at 1:00 p.m. The title contest will be broadcast live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Central Dauphin, 6-6-17

Matching up for the first time since Bethel Park defeated North Allegheny in the WPIAL semifinals last season, the North Allegheny Tigers eliminated the Black Hawks from the state playoffs on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 sweep at Ambridge High School. The Tigers swept the Black Hawks by set scores of 25-16, 29-27 and 25-18.

Tied 10-10 in the opening set, North Allegheny pulled away for a 25-16 win thanks in large part to the powerful swings of junior Canyon Tuman who pounded out six kills on his way to a team-high 18 kills for the afternoon.

It looked like the Tigers might cruise in set two after NA built a 16-8 lead over a seemingly frustrated Bethel Park squad. Making their fifth consecutive appearance in the state playoffs, the Black Hawks refused to back down and tied the game at 23-23. Sophomore Max Cooley and senior Connor Savrese supplied strong play in the middle to lead the Black Hawks back into the game. With Bethel Park leading 27-26, the resilient Tigers scored the next three points on a kill by Jason Stiefvater and back-to-back blocks by M.J. Barton to pull out a 29-27 victory. Luke and Eric Visgitis also played a pivotal role in NA’s win in set two, providing several timely kills and blocks. Luke Visgitis totaled seven kills and three blocks, while Eric notched nine kills and a team-best six blocks on the day. For his efforts, Eric Visgitis was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

The set two win took the wind from underneath the wings of the Black Hawks and North Allegheny convincingly won set three, 25-18. Contributing to the Tigers win was libero Danny Lebovitz who finished with a team-leading 14 digs. Barton and A.J. Schmidt dished out 32 and 11 assists, respectively.

North Allegheny improves to 21-0 on the season and advances to the PIAA semifinals against District 3 runner-up Central Dauphin on Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined. The match will be broadcast live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Bethel Park, 6-3-17

Facing off against the reigning PIAA champion Hempfield Black Knights, the North Allegheny Tigers continued their own quest for state gold with a hard-fought 3-2 win on Tuesday night. The Tigers’ opening round triumph in the PIAA playoffs did not come easy against the fifth-place finisher out of District 3. The Black Knights had suffered through an injury-riddled campaign in 2017 but the recent return of two starters led to an intriguing first round matchup versus the Tigers.

In the first set, Hempfield proved its worth as the defending state champions and broke open a tight game to take a 22-16 lead. Senior Logan Smiley powered the Black Knights with five kills and Matt Sheerin added four kills in a 25-21 win.

Dueling in another tightly contested set and tied 18-18, North Allegheny began to heat up and pulled away late for a 25-21 victory in set two. Senior Luke Visgitis and junior Canyon Tuman pounded out four kills apiece to lead the Tigers in the set.

Luke and Eric Visgitis doled out five kills apiece in a 25-16 win in set three that was firmly controlled by North Allegheny. However, Smiley reemerged with four kills in the fourth set to spur on the Black Knights to a narrow 25-23 win and forced a fifth and decisive set.

In the final set, the score was tied 6-6 before the Tigers rattled off 9 of the next 11 points to advance to the PIAA quarterfinals on Saturday. Tuman delivered four crucial kills down the stretch and totaled a game-high 20 kills on the night. For his efforts, Tuman was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Luke and Eric Visgitis finished with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Junior Jason Stiefvater delivered several timely swings on his way to a nine kill performance. On defense, libero Danny Lebovitz again led with 29 digs. Setter M.J. Barton notched 12 digs and dished out a game-high 49 assists.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 20-0 on the season and will take on the Bethel Park Black Hawks in the PIAA quarterfinals on Saturday. The match will be broadcast live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Hempfield, 5-30-17

The North Allegheny Tigers dethroned the defending WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford Warriors with a 3-0 victory in the Class AAA title tilt at Baldwin High School. The Warriors won their first ever WPIAL crown last season and were hoping to become back-to-back champions heading into Wednesday’s matchup. The Tigers were playing in the title game for the 12^th time in the last 15 years, but were making their first appearance since 2014.  Adding intrigue to the contest was the brother vs. brother storyline as North Allegheny head coach Dan Schall was facing his older brother, Penn-Trafford head coach Jim Schall. Both were volleyball standouts at Penn State University.

It was Dan Schall’s Tigers that exploded onto the scene in the first set and won in a rout, 25-10. Senior Luke Visgitis provided North Allegheny with seven kills in the opening set, on his way to a team-high 15 kills and five blocks.

The Warriors seemed to finally settle into the game in the second set and kept things much tighter. However, brothers Luke and Eric Visgitis combined for nine kills in the second set to outlast Penn-Trafford, 25-22.

In the third set, Penn-Trafford seemed determined to extend their reign as champions by battling the Tigers tooth and nail and held a 21-20 lead late. Seniors Brandon McGowen and Zach Werksman led the charge for the Warriors and combined for six kills and two blocks. Despite the onslaught of big swings from the Penn-Trafford duo, North Allegheny libero Danny Lebovitz covered every floorboard in the Baldwin gymnasium with a team-best 28 digs for the Tigers.  For his efforts, Lebovitz was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

With the help of Lebovitz, and timely kills from Jason Stiefvater and Canyon Tuman, the Tigers rallied back for a 25-23 victory to complete a 3-0 sweep of the Warriors.

North Allegheny setter M.J. Barton and Penn-Trafford’s Brandon McGowen were named WPIAL co-MVP in Class AAA prior to the game.  Tuman, and the Visgitis brothers were named first-team All-WPIAL. Lebovitz was a second-team selection, along with senior opposite Seth Russell. Stiefvater claimed third-team All-WPIAL laurels.

With the championship win, North Allegheny improves to 19-0 overall on the season. Both the Tigers and Penn-Trafford Warriors will appear in the PIAA tournament next week.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Penn-Trafford, 5-24-17