NA Digs Out 3-0 Sweep Of Oakland Catholic In WPIAL Semifinals
The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team punched its ticket to the WPIAL finals for the second straight season and fifth time in the last six years with a 3-0 sweep over the Oakland Catholic Eagles on Wednesday night. The Tigers won their 42nd consecutive match by set scores of 27-25, 25-17 and 25-17 in the Class AAAA WPIAL semifinals.
Appearing in the WPIAL semifinals for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons, the top-seeded Tigers were put to the test in the first set by the fourth-seeded Eagles. Oakland Catholic was led by junior outside hitter Taylor Cigna who posted five of her team-leading 12 kills in the opening set. Following Cigna’s fifth kill, the Eagles led 25-24. North Allegheny tied the score on an Anna Sprys kill and took a 26-25 lead when Sprys and Paige Morningstar denied Cigna on a block assist. The Tigers won the set on an Oakland Catholic error to secure a 27-25 victory. Junior Madison Curran was strong in the first set as well for the Tigers, chipping in with three kills.
North Allegheny and Oakland Catholic were tied 8-8 in the second set before the Tigers returned to form and claimed a 25-17 win. Sprys totaled five kills and junior Avery Tuman notched three kills.
In the third set, North Allegheny garnered a 4-3 advantage in the early going and led for the rest of the night en route to a 25-17 win and a WPIAL semifinal sweep of the Eagles. Sophomore Paige Miller helped put the finishing touches on the victory with five kills. A sparkplug for NA in sets two and three, Paige Miller was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 18-0 on the season and advances to face the Baldwin Highlanders in the WPIAL championship on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Oakland Catholic, 10-31-18
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
| Oakland Catholic | 25 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 27 | 25 | 25 | 3 |