Boys' Volleyball Game Summaries

by Randy Gore

Appearing in the WPIAL championship for an eighth consecutive season, and 32nd time overall, the North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team was looking for its first district title since 2022, when the Tigers earned a thrilling 3-2 win over Seneca Valley. After finishing as runners-up in Class 3A the last two seasons to Shaler, North Allegheny once again faced off against section rival Seneca Valley on Saturday at AHN Arena and emerged victorious, this time by a 3-1 decision. It was North Allegheny’s 23rd District 7 crown, far and away the most of any WPIAL school in the sport.

The Raiders, who were making their fifth WPIAL championship title match appearance, and first since losing to the Tigers in 2022, were eying their first-ever WPIAL championship. Hungry for a title, Seneca Valley stormed out of the gates in the first set and rode the hot hand of senior middle hitter Jordan Hoover to a convincing 25-17 win. Hoover totaled four of his team-high 17 kills in the opening set.

North Allegheny flipped the script in the second set and completely dominated Seneca Valley to the tune of a 25-15 win. Senior Garen White continued his torrid post-season play with three kills in a well-balanced set for the Tigers.

With the match tied at 1-1, the critical third set weighed in the balance with the score deadlocked, 19-19. Thanks in part to three blocks from White, the Tigers claimed six of the final seven points to earn a 25-20 victory. Geneva College commit Matthew LaMay, who finished with a game-high five aces, posted three in set three and capped the game from the service line.

Just one set away from a championship, North Allegheny overcame an early 6-3 deficit in set four and rolled to a 25-18 victory to secure WPIAL gold. In the decisive set, junior outside hitter Will Robertson punished the Raiders with a bombardment of big swings, belting out seven of his team-leading 17 kills. Adding seven digs and four blocks, Robertson was a consistent figure for the Tigers throughout the afternoon and was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Match.

In a complete team performance, a host of Tigers contributed to the victory. Junior Brendan Moore tallied 10 kills and senior Eli Braun totaled nine kills to help pace the offense. Setters Jackson Failla and Elliott Swierczynski dished out 25 and 16 assists, respectively. On defense, junior libero Emmett Morris delivered a team-best 17 digs. Senior Dominic Laswell provided a spark with his opportunity in the middle and delivered a team-leading five blocks. Moore, Robertson and White all totaled four blocks each.

The win, North Allegheny’s 10th in a row, improves the Tigers’ record to 15-1 overall, while Seneca Valley falls to 14-4. The Tigers will open the state playoffs at home on Tuesday, June 3, against the fifth-place finisher in District 3. The contest will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 5-24-25

by: Bob Orkwis

For the third time this season, North Allegheny hooked up with its Section 3-3A foe, Pine-Richland. This time, the stakes were higher, with a berth in the WPIAL Championship on the line. Just like in the regular season, the Tigers vanquished the Rams, this time in straight sets, 25-18, 25-23, 25-17 to reach the title game for the eighth straight year.

The Rams jumped out to 1-0 leads in each of the first two sets, but in set one, the Tigers used a five-point run early, and an eight point stretch later to lead by eight points on their way to the win.

Senior Matthew Lamay started the opening set at the service line and finished it from there as well, as he notched two aces, while recording eight kills and a pair of blocks in the match.

Set two was much tighter, with Pine-Richland leading by three, and 18-17, before North Allegheny came back. There were ties at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22, before the Tigers scored three of the last four points to win 25-23.

With set three tied at 5-5, the Tigers went on a six-point run to take control and win the final set 25-17. A highlight reel play took place courtesy of the right foot of libero Emmett Morris. The junior raced toward the near side stands and made a saving dig with his foot that Lamay played across the net. The Tigers got a kill after the Rams returned the ball and all the momentum of the third set stayed with the black and gold.

That dig was one of nine for Morris, who also added two aces.

Will Robertson had seven digs, four kills and two blocks for the Tigers, while Brendan Moore also had eight blocks to tie for the team lead for North Allegheny.

Jackson Failla and Elliott Swierczynski each recorded 13 assists in the sweep, with Failla adding six digs.

Dom Laswell, three blocks and Elijah Braun, two blocks, were strong defensively at the net for the Tigers. 

North Allegheny’s most consistent performer, and one of their emotional leaders on the night, was senior Garen White, who earned the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

White had seven kills and three blocks in the front line for the Tigers in the victory.

Pine-Richland (12-6), the fifth seed in the 3A tournament, will now face sixth-seeded Penn-Trafford in the consolation match and have the right to qualify for the PIAA playoffs.

The Tigers, (14-1), have now won nine straight matches, and the top seed will face second-seeded Seneca Valley at Peters Township High School an attempt to win their 23rd WPIAL title and first since 2022.

North Allegheny and Seneca Valley split a pair of matches during the regular season, with the Raiders handing the Tigers their only loss in match play on April 7th, while North Allegheny returned the favor winning the regular season section-finale on May 8th.

Once the day and time are decided, you can hear coverage of the Championship Match on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 5-20-25

by Randy Gore

The top-seeded North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team opened the WPIAL playoffs on Thursday night with a 3-0 sweep over eighth-seeded Mt. Lebanon in the quarterfinal round at UPMC Court.

The Tigers secured convincing victories in the first two sets, winning 25-15 and 25-13, thanks to a well-rounded performance. Junior Brendan Moore paced the attack with nine kills, while fellow junior Will Robertson followed with eight kills. Juniors Elliott Swierczynski and Jackson Failla facilitated the offense with 17 and 15 assists, respectively.

The Blue Devils, who were making their first WPIAL playoff appearance since the boys’ volleyball program went dark in 2011, weren’t going down without a fight in the third set and built a 20-15 lead. Facing a five-point deficit, North Allegheny staged a rally and went on a 6-0 run thanks in part to the serving of Robertson. The run was sparked by a Robertson kill, and included a block by senior Garen White and a pair of kills by Moore. With NA leading 21-20, the two teams traded barbs down the stretch and were deadlocked 23-23. Junior Peter Bratich gave NA a 24-23 lead with a kill and senior Eli Braun followed with a match-clinching block to cap a 25-23 triumph.

One of the deciding factors in the victory was NA’s dominance at the net. Leading the Tigers in that department was White, who tallied a team-high six blocks and added five kills on offense. For his efforts, White was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

On defense, senior libero Emmett Morris totaled a team-best 13 digs, followed by Robertson’s 10 digs. Junior defensive specialist Nicholas Di Prato registered nine blocks and provided a spark off the bench with athletic plays in the first set.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 13-1 overall and advances to the WPIAL semifinals to face section rival Pine-Richland on Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.  Mt. Lebanon’s season comes to a close with a 14-2 mark.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Mt. Lebanon, 5-15-25

North Allegheny traveled to Shaler High School on Saturday morning to take part in the Shaler Invitational. The Tigers rolled through pool play and got to the invitational final before falling to Meadville to claim second place.

The Tigers went 6-0 in pool play defeating Meadville, Shaler, Saegertown, Altoona, Penn-Trafford and Cochranton. NA would get a bye into the semifinals where they would defeat Altoona 25-11. North Allegheny faced off with Meadville in the finals and battled but ultimately fell by a score of 27-25.

Will Robertson led the Tigers with 18 kills. Brendan Moore had 15 kills while Garen White added 13 kills. Matthew LaMay pitched in 10 kills. Robertson had three aces from the service line while Elliot Swierczynski had two aces. Garen White had 10 blocks at the net while Peter Bratich and Moore each had five. Ryan Dyga added four blocks. Aidan Mowry had 34 digs defensively for NA while Robertson had 21 and LaMay added 13. Jackson Failla dished out 41 assists and added 12 digs. Swierczynski had 34 assists and James Zimmer had 11 assists.

North Allegheny returns to action on Thursday when they take on the winner of Mt. Lebanon and Gateway in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. The game will be at UPMC Court at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

North Allegheny and Seneca Valley both came into Thursday’s match with 6-1 section records. The winner claimed the outright section title in Section 3-3A. The Tigers came out victorious by set scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-21 and 25-17.

Will Robertson had 13 kills for North Allegheny while Peter Bratich had 11. Brendan Moore added 10 kills. Emmett Morris had 20 digs while Robertson had 13. Elliot Swierczynski dished out 27 assists while Jackson Failla helped with 18. For his efforts, Moore was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

North Allegheny improves to 11-1 overall and finishes section play with a 7-1 record. Seneca Valley falls to 12-3 and 6-2 in section play. The Tigers return to action on Saturday morning when they take part in the Shaler Invitational starting at 8:30 a.m.

ICYMI: Highlights from @navolleyball's 3-1 section-clinching win over Seneca Valley on Thursday! pic.twitter.com/JQCMOysEQT

— NATigers (@NATigerAthletic) May 12, 2025

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 5-8-25