Girls' Volleyball News

By Randy Gore

The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team won its fifth straight on Tuesday night with a 3-1 triumph over the Butler Golden Tornado at UPMC Court. The Tigers prevailed in the Section 1-6A opener by set scores of 20-25, 25-13, 25-18 and 25-13.

The winless Golden Tornado had won only one set in four matches entering the contest; however, upstart Butler stormed out of the gates in set one with a block and kill from senior Janessa Robinson for an immediate 2-0 lead.  Trailing 3-1, NA responded with a 3-0 run, keyed by a pair of kills from junior Carena Schiller, for a 4-3 advantage. The slim one-point lead was short-lived as Butler quickly regained the advantage and pulled away for a 25-20 win. Senior Raina Lewandowski tallied six kills in the first set on her way to a team-high 12 kills.

Following the set one defeat, the Tigers pounced on the GTs in set two, taking a 10-2 lead and never looking back en route to a dominant 25-13 victory. Senior Alicia Mokube, who totaled five kills in the opening set, continued her strong play in set two with a pair of aces and one kill. Mokube finished with nine kills on the evening.

Junior Ella Lange contributed a pair of kills and an ace in the set two win, and continued her torrid hitting with four kills in game three, helping NA build a 13-7 lead. Butler refused to go away quietly this time around and rallied by taking six of the next seven points, trimming the NA lead to 14-13. The Tigers quickly regained the momentum thanks to a 5-0 run, spearheaded by senior Molly Robertson. The Penn State commit tallied four consecutive points during the game-deciding surge, with two kills, a setter dump, and a block. The Tigers cruised from there, winning set three, 25-18, and then blew away the Tornado in set four, 25-13, to close out the section triumph.

With an outstanding all-around performance, Robertson delivered nine kills, eight digs, five assists, two aces and two blocks to claim Wright Automotive Player of the Match honors.

Senior defensive specialist Keira Duffy led the team from the service line with four aces and added nine digs. Senior libero Vivienne Deily-Nelson posted a team-best 10 digs.

Lang paced the offensive attack with 10 kills and Schiller chipped in with nine. Setters Sydney Klaich and Lily Dent facilitated the offense with 17 and 15 assists, respectively.

The win moves North Allegheny to 5-0 on the season and 1-0 in Section 1-6A play. Butler slides to 0-5 and 0-1 in the section. The Tigers return to action on Wednesday night with a non-section battle against Oakland Catholic, who ranks No. 2 in the PVCA Class 4A Top 10 poll. The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in Class 6A. The match will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Butler, 9-15-26

SCORE BY SETS	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Butler	25	13	18	13	1
North Allegheny	20	25	25	25	3