NA Cruises Past Peters Township, Swierczynski Surpasses 1,000 Career Assists
By Randy Gore
The top-seeded North Allegheny Tigers opened the playoffs on Thursday night with a 3-0 sweep of the Peters Township Indians in the WPIAL quarterfinals at UPMC Court. Following a first-round bye, the reigning WPIAL champions quickly disposed of the Indians by set scores of 25-10, 25-12 and 25-12.
Peters Township entered the contest as winners of seven of its previous eight matches, including a 3-2 win over Norwin in the WPIAL first round. It was the first postseason victory for the Indians since 2017. That same year, their quarterfinal round opponent was North Allegheny. Just as it was in 2017, Thursday night’s result was similar.
The Tigers pounced on the Indians from the very start, powered by the right arms of seniors Will Robertson and Brendan Moore. The power-hitting duo combined for 11 kills in the first set as NA cruised to a 25-10 win.
In set two, it was more of the same as Robertson and Moore paced an NA attack that saw a variety of contributors throughout the night. With nearly every Tiger touching the floor, NA maintained a high level of play through the duration of the evening and rolled to 25-12 victories in sets two and three, to claim a straight sweep of Peters Township.
Robertson and Moore led the offense with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Senior southpaw Nathan May added six kills and fellow senior Luke Conlon chipped in with three. At the net, junior Cole Galupi led the team in blocks with five, followed by Conlon and senior Matt Chou with three blocks each.
The Wright Automotive Player of the Match was senior Elliot Swierczynski, who facilitated the Tigers’ high-powered offense with 22 assists, surpassing 1,000 for his career, and a team-best six digs. Moore and senior libero Emmett Morris totaled five digs each.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 11-0 on the season and advances to the WPIAL semifinals to face fourth-seeded Baldwin on Monday night at a site and time to be determined. The match will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARY vs. Peters Township 5-14-26
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peters Township | 10 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
