Girls' Volleyball News

Appearing in the WPIAL championship for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons, the North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team came up just short of claiming another district crown and dropped a 3-1 decision to Pine-Richland on Thursday night at AHN Arena. The Rams won the first-ever WPIAL Class 6A championship by set scores of 25-19, 20-25, 25-18 and 25-22.

In the regular season, North Allegheny swept Pine-Richland to earn an undefeated Section 1-6A title. However, in the WPIAL final, the Rams got off to a quick start, taking an early 4-0 lead. Western Michigan commit Piper Vogel powered the Rams’ attack with eight kills in the opening set to spark a 25-19 win. Vogel totaled a game-high 25 kills and eclipsed the 1,000-kill plateau for her career in the first set.

In set two, senior Taylor Patterson tallied a kill and a block in an early surge that saw the Rams open up a 13-7 lead. Undaunted, North Allegheny chipped away at the deficit as junior Carena Schiller tallied three kills to help the Tigers inch back, cutting the deficit to 19-17 late in the set. From there, a pivotal 6-0 run, sparked by senior Alicia Mokube’s three kills, put the Tigers up 23-19 en route to a 25-20 win. Mokube finished with a team-high 12 kills, followed by Schiller with 10. Additionally, junior middle blocker Paige Shanahan provided a spark at the net and posted a team-best eight blocks.

Just as it seemed momentum was with North Allegheny, the pendulum swung back toward Pine-Richland in set three, who stormed out of the gates for an 8-1 lead. This time, the deficit proved too large to overcome as the Rams cruised to a 25-18 win.

For the first time on the night, the Tigers started with a lead in set three, thanks to a kill by Schiller and a block by Shanahan, as well as a Pine-Richland hitting error for a 3-0 lead. North Allegheny built a 17-13 advantage before Pine-Richland rattled off a 6-0 run to grab a 19-17 lead. Kills by Mokube and junior Ella Lange allowed the Tigers to tie the score at 20-20. From there, the Rams scored five of the next seven points, including a match-point kill by Patterson, for a 25-22 win and a WPIAL Class 6A championship.

Along with Vogel’s 25 kills, junior Ela Hernandez added nine kills for the Rams. Senior setter Avery Dougherty facilitated the offense with a match-high 40 assists, and junior setter Juliet Rand posted 18 digs.

For North Allegheny, senior Molly Robertson dished out 16 assists, followed by junior Lily Dent’s 10 assists. Junior libero Vivienne Deily-Nelson tallied a match-high 21 digs.

The North Allegheny senior class of Robertson, Mokube, and defensive specialists Keira Duffy and Luana Tripon were honored as Wright Automotive Players of the Match for their great careers.

North Allegheny’s season comes to an end with a 15-2 overall record, while Pine-Richland improves to 14-4 overall and advances to the PIAA tournament. In Class 6A, only the WPIAL champion qualifies for the state playoffs, unlike the PIAA bracket in the largest classification in years past. Congratulations to head coach Russ Hoburg and the entire North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team for another great season.

Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 11-5-26

SCORE BY SETS	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Pine-Richland	25	20	25	25	3
North Allegheny	19	25	18	22	1