Boys' Volleyball Game Summaries

Facing off with Warwick in the state playoffs for the first time since 2018, the North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the host Warriors in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs. The District 3 runners-up prevailed over the Tigers by set scores of 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 and 27-25.

Warwick started strong in set one by opening up a 6-1 lead and holding an advantage for the remainder of the game. Senior Parker Gooding was a catalyst for the Warriors in the first set with three kills, a block and an ace. Sophomore middle blocker Peter Bratich provided a spark late in the set with four kills for the Tigers.

Bratich and fellow sophomore Will Robertson helped power the Tigers to leads of 17-15 and 19-16 in set two. However, a 5-0 run by Warwick was spearheaded by the serves and an ace from senior Nathan Wenger. Saint Francis University commit Kyle Charles tallied three kills and a block down the stretch for Warwick in a 25-22 victory. Charles finished with an unofficial 11 kills.

The sophomore duo of Robertson and Bratich who finished with 17 and 15 kills, respectively, continued to pound away at Warwick with their big swings and helped NA prevail in set three, 25-20. For his consistent efforts throughout the night, Bratich was selected as the Wright Automotive Player of the Match.

In the fourth set, North Allegheny trailed 18-13 and began a comeback bid by winning a marathon volley to trim the deficit to 18-14. From there, the Tigers went on a 6-1 run that tied the score 19-19.  Timely kills by senior Stone Gaertner (7) and junior Garen White (5) contributed to the NA rally. Late in the set, the Tigers led 25-24 and were a point away from forcing a fifth set. Unfortunately, Warwick sophomore Thomas Mejia provided four of the final five points to allow the Warriors to pull out a 27-25 victory. Mejia tallied two kills and two blocks, including the match-winner, down the stretch.

Other statistical leaders for NA included senior libero Will Hahn with 21 digs and senior setter Nicolas Carioto with 39 assists.

The loss ends North Allegheny’s season with a 13-3 record, while Warwick advances to the PIAA quarterfinals with a 15-4 record. Congratulations to head coach Dan Long and the entire boy’s volleyball team for a memorable 2024 season.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARY VS. WARWICK, 6-4-24

For the second consecutive season, section rivals North Allegheny and Shaler faced off with a WPIAL Class 3A title at stake. The Tigers gave a spirited effort but ultimately dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to the Titans, who earned their second consecutive WPIAL championship. Shaler earned the district crown by set scores of 25-19, 25-23, 19-25 and 25-22.

The two teams split their regular season matches each claiming a 3-1 victory on their home floor. The WPIAL championship was played at Peters Township’s AHN Arena and was hotly contested from the very start.

In the opening set, sophomore Will Robertson and senior Stone Gaertner provided three kills each to lead North Allegheny to a 19-18 lead. However, Shaler used a 7-0 run to capture set one, 25-19. Senior middle blocker Dante Palumbo and senior outside hitter Logan Peterson provided big kills late in the game to power the Titans.

Shaler continued to ride the wave of momentum into set two and built an 18-11 lead before NA started a rally. Robertson hammered out four kills during the Tigers’ comeback bid and NA cut the deficit to one point on four separate occasions. Sophomore middle blocker Peter Bratich peppered the Titans with three kills as well and an ace by sophomore Brendan Moore brought the score to 24-23, Shaler. However, an NA error ended the set and the Titans survived the rally for a 25-23 win.

Trailing the 2-0 in the match score, North Allegheny head coach Dan Long mixed up the lineup and found a spark that ignited a strong third set for the Tigers. Junior Garen White and sophomore Nathan May provided timely kills to give NA some momentum. Tied 15-15, sophomore setter Jackson Failla was the catalyst for a decisive 5-0 run with his serves and accurate passing to give North Allegheny a 20-15 lead. Three kills by Bratich and one more by White capped the set for a 25-19 win as the Tigers forced a fourth set. Senior setter Nicolas Carioto added a pair of aces and finished with three aces on the evening.

In a dramatic and ultra-competitive game four that featured nine ties, Shaler held a 15-10 lead before North Allegheny staged another rally. Deadlocked at 22-22, southpaw hitter Peyton Planz gave the Titans a 23-22 advantage and two hitting errors by the Tigers on the next two points gave Shaler its second consecutive WPIAL championship.

For Shaler, Palumbo led with a game-high 16 kills and Peterson added 11 kills and 11 digs. A spectacular defensive effort by libero Cam Miller with 20 digs prevented North Allegheny from overcoming Shaler on several occasions with the game tied. Setter Zach Rosenwald dished out 36 assists.

North Allegheny was paced by Robertson with a team-high 19 kills and added 12 digs. A consistent force throughout the night, Robertson was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Match.

Additional contributors for the Tigers included Moore and Bratich with eight kills each. Senior libero Will Hahn totaled 33 digs, while Carioto posted seven kills, a team-high 21 assists and chipped in with 11 digs in addition to his team-high three aces. Senior Ryan Quatman totaled 13 assists and Failla followed with 10 assists.

North Allegheny falls to 13-2 overall, while Shaler improves to 16-1. Both teams qualify for the PIAA playoffs, which begin on Tuesday, June 4.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARY VS. SHALER, 5-23-24

By: Jared Barton

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 WPIAL semifinal victory over Butler at Fox Chapel Tuesday night. NA won by set scores of 25-13, 25-22 and 25-11.

Sophomore Peter Bratich took control over the first set, with four kills and a block. Senior Stone Gaertner also contributed three of his nine total kills in the frame. The Tigers also had three aces courtesy of seniors Nicolas Carioto and Ryan Quatman as well as sophomore Elliott Swierczynski.

After another solid start to set two, Butler crawled back and held a lead in the middle of the frame. Sophomore Brendan Moore registered three kills and a block, while fellow sophomore Will Robertson notched two kills and a block and senior Jeremiah Satcho had two blocks in the frame. Moore had the set-clinching kill to end the middle set.

NA took an early lead and never looked back in the third set, as junior Matthew LaMay took control as the server in the early stages and notched an ace. Senior Will Hahn also scored an ace along with a team-leading 21 digs. Seniors Sreeman Koka and Sam Kinzler tallied late kills to seal the deal for the Tigers. Sophomore Jackson Failla also had a kill in the set.

Hahn took home Wright Automotive Player of the Game laurels for his excellent performance throughout the match. Gaertner led the team with nine kills, Bratich led the team with three blocks and also had eight kills. Quatman and Carioto had 16 and 15 assists respectively.

With the win, the Tigers improve to 13-1 overall on the season and advance to the WPIAL Championship with a rematch against top-seeded Shaler from AHN Arena at Peters Township High School. The date and time of the match is to be determined. The North Allegheny Sports Network will provide live audio coverage of the match.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARY VS. BUTLER, 5-21-24

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team rolled past the Canon-McMillan Big Macs in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals on Thursday night at UPMC Court. The second-seeded Tigers devoured the seventh-seeded Big Macs by set scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-18.

Tied 5-5 early in the opening set, North Allegheny outscored Canon-McMillan, 20-9, the rest of the way to claim game one. Sophomore Will Robertson tallied five of his nine kills on the night in the first set. Senior Stone Gaertner tallied three kills and three blocks to help power the Tigers.

In set two, North Allegheny led 14-7 before CM fought back with a 7-2 run to trim the Tigers lead to 16-14. Following a timeout by head coach Dan Long, the Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to gain a commanding 23-14 lead. Gaertner, who finished with nine kills and tied for the team lead in blocks with four, finished off the set with a kill to give NA a 25-16 win. A consistent force throughout the night, Gaertner was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Match.

The Big Macs, winners of three consecutive Section 1 titles, hung tough with the Tigers in set three and were tied 10-10 and trailed just 17-16 late in the set. However, North Allegheny finished out the match by taking eight of the final 10 points en route to a 25-18 victory and 3-0 sweep. Sophomore Peter Bratich delivered six kills in the final set and totaled a team-best 11 on the night. The 6-foot-6 Bratich added four blocks in the middle.

Also contributing to the win was sophomore Elliott Swierczynski with a team-leading two aces. Senior setter Ryan Quatman tallied a team-leading 18 assists and chipped in with six digs. Senior libero Will Hahn paced the team in digs with 16. Senior setter Nicolas Carioto added 11 assists.

North Allegheny improves to 12-1 overall with the win, while Canon-McMillan’s season comes to a close with a 14-3 record. The Tigers will take on Butler in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Fox Chapel High School. It will be an all-Section 2 final four as Shaler and Seneca Valley will duel in the other semifinal contest at 7:30 p.m. The NA vs. Butler matchup will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Canon-McMillan, 5-16-24

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team rounded out the regular season on Saturday by taking part in the Shaler Invitational. The Tigers went 5-1 in pool play to finish in first place in Pool B before earning a 1-0 win over Cochranton in the tournament quarterfinals. In the semifinals, NA faced off against section rival Shaler and fell by a 1-0 score.

In their final tune-up ahead of the WPIAL playoffs, the Tigers were paced on offense by sophomore Will Robertson with a team-high 24 kills. Sophomore Peter Bratich tallied 16 kills, while senior Stone Gaertner and sophomore Brendan Moore notched 13 kills each.

Bratich stacked the middle of the net with a team-high five blocks, followed by Moore and senior Jeremiah Satcho with four blocks each.

Senior libero Will Hahn led the team in digs (48) and aces (3). Robertson was second in both categories with 13 digs and two aces. Senior setter Brady Quatman also had 13 digs to go along with 37 assists. Senior setter Nicolas Carioto notched a team-best 40 assists.

Up next for North Allegheny is the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. The Tigers have the No. 2 seed and will play at home in the WPIAL quarterfinals on Thursday, May 16 against the winner of Canon-McMillan and Central Catholic, who will face off this Tuesday. The WPIAL quarterfinal contest will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.