Tigers Cruise To WPIAL Quarterfinal Sweep of Big Macs
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
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
| Canon-McMillan | 14 | 16 | 18 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |