NA Outlasts Central York In Five Sets To Advance To PIAA Championship

Posted on: by Jonathan Spina

By Randy Gore

The North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team punched its ticket to the PIAA championship for the first time since 2022 with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Central York on Tuesday night at Bald Eagle Area High School. The Tigers prevailed by set scores of 26-24, 16-25, 25-21, 21-25 and 15-12.

Familiar foes in the postseason, North Allegheny and Central York faced off in the PIAA playoffs for the fifth time in the last eight seasons. The last meeting was a five-set affair that saw the Panthers earn a first-round win in the 2023 playoffs. This time, with a spot in the state championship match at stake, the Tigers earned a measure of revenge.

In the opening set, the Tigers trailed 14-10 before staging a rally that was spearheaded by junior Brendan Moore. Moore totaled four kills and a pair of blocks in game one to lift the Tigers to a 26-24 victory.

Tied 6-6 in set two, the serving of Central York’s Aiden Swartz gave NA fits and led to a tide-turning 6-0 run and a 12-6 advantage for the Panthers. Later in the set, with Central York leading 20-16, Swartz’s serves again led to a 5-0 run and a 25-16 win. Swartz notched a pair of aces in set two and junior Ian DeVos tallied three kills.

North Allegheny bounced back in set three to regain command of the contest. Junior Will Robertson led the way in the third game with four kills and junior southpaw Nathan May chipped in with three kills off the bench to give the Tigers a 25-21 win.

Central York struggled in set three with four service errors in the late stages, but that wouldn’t be the case in set four as senior Luke Laning sparked a critical 7-0 run to erase an early five-point deficit. Trailing 10-5, a service error by NA followed by back-to-back aces courtesy of Laning started the 7-0 spurt, giving Central York a 12-10 lead. After the Tigers answered with a 4-0 run to regain the lead at 14-12, the Panthers responded with a 5-0 run, including a pair of blocks by senior Ethan Quartey, and Central York pulled away for a 25-21 triumph to force a fifth and decisive set.

In the final set, NA trailed 6-4, but a kill and a block by junior middle hitter Peter Bratich tied the score at 6-6 and gave the Tigers the spark they needed. From there, North Allegheny rode the big swings of Robertson and Moore and the Tigers clawed past the Panthers for a 15-12 victory in an exciting five-set classic.

Moore, who delivered the match-ending point in set five, totaled a team-best 17 kills and six blocks to earn Wright Automotive Player of the Match honors. Central York was paced by senior John He, who belted out a game-high 22 kills.

Robertson also punished the Panthers with 15 kills, followed by senior Matthew LaMay‘s 14 kills. LaMay led the team with two aces, while junior libero Emmett Morris notched a team-leading 23 digs. Setters Jackson Failla and Elliot Swierczynski dished out 28 and 26 assists, respectively.

The win improves North Allegheny’s record to 18-1 overall, while Central York’s campaign closes with a 17-4 mark. After beating the District 3 runners-up in the PIAA semifinals, the Tigers will battle District 3 champion Cumberland Valley in the PIAA Class 3A championship on Saturday at Penn State University at 1:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Central York, 6-10-25

SCORE BY SETS12345FINAL
North Allegheny26162521153
Central York24252125122