Tigers Win 5-Set Thriller Over Raiders For 5th Consecutive WPIAL Crown

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The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team won a fifth consecutive WPIAL championship and 22nd overall with a thrilling 3-2 victory over rival Seneca Valley on Wednesday night at Robert Morris University. It’s also the 16th WPIAL crown for NA in the last 19 seasons. The Tigers won by set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 22-25, 25-17 and 21-19.

Trailing in the match score, 2-1, after three sets, North Allegheny played with the heart of a champion to win the fourth set and prevailed in a marathon fifth set against a valiant Seneca Valley team. The Raiders were vying for their first WPIAL crown and won the second and third set on the strength of 19 kills from senior Nathan DeGraaf.

The Tigers clawed their way back thanks in large part to senior Cole Dorn, who belted out a team-high 25 kills. The Saint Francis University commit also added 13 digs and two blocks and earned Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors. Dorn had five kills and a block in the decisive fifth set.

Big swings for the NA attack were also provided by junior Jax Wilhite with 12 kills, junior Nico Sfeir added nine kills and senior Jack Birch followed with eight kills. Senior Caleb Schall delivered another terrific all-around effort and facilitated the offense with 59 assists.

Defensively, senior libero Ryan Treser posted a team-high 19 digs and fellow senior Titus LaMay contributed 12 digs. At the net, junior Varun Kaveti and Dorn led the team with three blocks each. Kaveti also tallied three gigantic kills in the fifth set.

North Allegheny improves to 14-1 overall, while Seneca Valley dips to 17-2 on the season. The Tigers will now set their sights on a state title and will begin their run in the PIAA playoffs on Tuesday.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 5-25-22

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY SETS12345FINAL
North Allegheny25212225213
Seneca Valley23252517192