Boys' Volleyball Game Summaries

by Jared Barton

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team suffered its first setback of the season Friday night on the road to reigning WPIAL Champion Shaler, 3-1. The Tigers won the first set, 26-24, but the Titans took the remaining sets 25-21, 30-28 and 25-16.

The Tigers were paced by sophomore Will Robertson, who notched a team-high 22 kills while adding nine digs and five blocks. Senior Stone Gaertner had a solid night on the floor registering 12 kills and an ace. Senior Jeremiah Satcho and Sophomore Peter Bratich each had seven kills with five blocks. Senior Will Hahn tallied 20 digs, while fellow senior Nicholas Carioto had 47 assists and eight digs. Senior Ryan Quatman also added six assists.

North Allegheny falls to 5-1 both overall and in section play. It’s a quick turnaround for both squads, as NA and Shaler meet up again Tuesday night at North Allegheny for a 7:00 p.m. start. The contest will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Shaler, 4-19-24

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team maintained its unblemished record on Tuesday night with a 3-0 sweep at Pine-Richland. The Tigers earned the Section 2-AAA victory by set scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-20.

In a well-rounded effort by the Tigers, sophomore Will Robertson led the offense with 11 kills, followed by sophomore Peter Bratich and senior Stone Gaertner with seven and six kills, respectively. Senior Jeremiah Satcho and Gaertner totaled two blocks apiece to help clog the middle of the net. Gaertner and junior Matthew LaMay notched one ace apiece. Senior setter Nicolas Carioto tallied a team-high 20 assists, and fellow senior Ryan Quatman contributed 13 assists. On defense, senior libero Will Hahn posted a team-best 19 digs.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 5-0 overall and in section play. The Tigers will visit Shaler on Friday night in a battle of unbeatens and a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class 3A championship.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 4-16-24

Facing off against some of the best competition in the state of Pennsylvania, the North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team earned a second-place showing at the Koller Classic at Central York High School.

After going 6-2 in pool play, the Tigers defeated Cedar Crest in the Round of 16 by a 1-0 (25-17) decision and followed with a 1-0 (25-19) triumph against Emmaus in the tournament quarterfinals. Against host Central York in the semifinals, North Allegheny picked up a hard-fought 1-0 (27-25) victory before falling to Shaler in a best-of-three for the tournament championship, 2-1 (18-25, 25-22, 12-15).

Individually, senior Stone Gaertner led the NA attack with 33 kills and added six blocks. Sophomore Will Robertson totaled 29 kills to go along with five blocks and a team-high four aces. Sophomore Peter Bratich tallied 22 kills and led the team with eight blocks. Senior setters Nicolas Carioto and Ryan Quatman distributed 91 and 36 assists, respectively. Defensively, senior libero Will Hahn notched a team-high 43 digs.

North Allegheny will return to section play on Tuesday night with a visit to Pine-Richland. Later in the week, the Tigers will have a rematch with Shaler on Thursday.

by Jared Barton

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team remained perfect on the season and in the section after a 3-1 win over Seneca Valley at home on Thursday night.

Set one started back and forth between the two teams until the Tigers caught fire in the middle of the frame. NA had a pair of four-point runs aided by the strong play of sophomores Will Robertson and Peter Bratich, along with junior Matthew LaMay and senior Stone Gaertner. Robertson ended the 25-15 first set with two kills and an ace, Bratich had two kills and block, while LaMay notched an ace and a kill. Senior Peter Carioto also registered an ace and block in the stanza.

Set two was a tight battle, but Seneca Valley held the upper hand throughout. The Raiders won the set 25-22 with strong play from junior Jordan Hoover and seniors Peter Breski and Matthew Mirilovich. North Allegheny still had solid contributions, as Gaertner and Bratich each earned four kills in the set. Senior Jeremiah Satcho also collected two blocks while fellow senior Will Hahn added an ace.

NA had better luck in set three, as the Tigers won another close-knit contest where the teams kept the scoring within two points almost the entire time. A couple of Gaertner kills and a Carioto ace opened up the margin and North Allegheny won the set 25-20. Senior Josh Farr collected two kills, while LaMay hit two more aces. Gartner had four kills and two blocks. Satcho added another block and kill.

Seneca Valley was not going to shy away in set four, as the two programs kept the back and fourth action going. A Gartner kill and back-to-back points from Robertson via a kill and ace secured the win, as NA took the final set 25-21. Robertson had three kills and the ace in the frame, while Gaertner had three more kills, Bratich tallied a block and kill, junior Elijah Braun had a pair of kills and senior Theo Wilkinson added a kill as well.

Bratich was named Wright Automotive Player of the Game for his efforts in the win.

North Allegheny moves to 3-0 both on the season and in section play. The Tigers head to Central York for an invitational over the weekend before returning to section play at Pine-Richland on Tuesday night.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 4-11-24

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team picked up a third straight win to start the 2024 season with a 3-0 sweep at Fox Chapel on Tuesday night in Section 2-AAA action. The Tigers prevailed by set scores of 25-13, 25-20 and 25-20.

Coming off a strong performance in a win over North Hills on Monday night, senior Stone Gaertner continued his stellar play by delivering a team-high 12 kills and two blocks against the Foxes. Sophomore Will Robertson pounded out nine kills, while sophomore Peter Bratich and junior Garen White notched four kills each. Bratich also added two blocks in the middle.

Defensively, senior libero Will Hahn totaled a team-high 15 digs. Senior setters Nicolas Carioto and Ryan Quatman distributed 20 and 16 assists, respectively. Juniors Eli Braun, Caleb Chen and Matthew LaMay all posted one ace apiece.

North Allegheny improves to 3-0 overall and in section play, while Fox Chapel slips to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the section. The Tigers will return home on Thursday night for a section matchup with Seneca Valley. The contest will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Fox Chapel, 4-9-24