Tigers Secure Outright Section Crown With 3-1 Win Over Rams
By Randy Gore
The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team locked up an outright Section 1-6A championship on Thursday night with a 3-1 triumph over Pine-Richland at UPMC Court. It’s the 12th consecutive season that NA has earned at least a share of the section title.
Earlier in the season on Sept. 29, the Tigers defeated the Rams in a five-set thriller in Gibsonia. Since then, Pine-Richland won seven in a row and had a chance to claim a share of the section crown with a win in the regular-season finale. PR got off to a quick start with a pair of aces from junior libero Juliet Rand and rode the hot hand of Western Michigan commit Piper Vogel, who belted eight of her match-high 17 kills in the opening set. Vogel led the Rams to a 25-19 win in the first set.
North Allegheny bounced back in set two and immediately jumped out to a 9-3 lead. While Pine-Richland trimmed the NA lead to 14-13, the Tigers never trailed, thanks in part to three kills and three aces from University of Albany commit Alicia Mokube. North Allegheny. The Tigers also received a boost at the net courtesy of junior Paige Shanahan, who tallied three blocks and led the Tigers to a 25-16 win in the second set.
A kill and three aces by Vogel sparked the Rams to a 9-4 lead in set three, but the Tigers once again answered back immediately. Penn State commit Molly Robertson initiated a 5-0 run with a kill and two aces, which put NA up 14-11. From that point, North Allegheny grew the lead courtesy of five kills by junior Ella Lange, and the Tigers pulled away for a 25-19 win. Lange totaled 10 kills on the night.
In set four, PR fell behind 9-4 in the early going but rallied to knot the score at 23-23. In danger of going to a fifth set, North Allegheny tallied back-to-back points on a kill by junior Carena Schiller and a block from Shanahan to close out a 25-23 win and 3-1 triumph.
A consistent force throughout the night, Mokube led the Tigers in blocks (4) and aces (5), and added 10 kills and 10 digs to earn Wright Automotive Player of the Match honors.
Additional team leaders included Roberston with 11 kills, 14 digs and 14 assists, while Schiller posted a team-high 14 kills. Junior libero Vivinne Deily-Nelson posted a team-high 21 digs, and senior defensive specialist Keira Duffy chipped in with 12 digs.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in Section 1-6A. Pine-Richland dips to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in the section. The Tigers will await the WPIAL playoff pairings, which will be released on Friday afternoon.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 10-22-26
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine-Richland | 25 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 19 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
