NA Shoots Down Moon In WPIAL Semifinals, 3-0

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The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team punched its ticket to the WPIAL championship for the third consecutive year and sixth time in the last seven years with a 3-0 sweep over the Moon Tigers on Wednesday night. NA won by set scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-8 in a dominant showing in the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals.

Not since 2006 had Moon appeared in a WPIAL semifinal, which was also the last time it reached and won the WPIAL championship. The two-time reigning WPIAL and PIAA champions took advantage of Moon’s playoff inexperience and jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first set. Junior Paige Miller helped lead the way in set one with four kills as the Tigers claimed a 25-19 win. Freshman Mia Tuman checked in for the final point and delivered a kill to finish off set one.

Finally settled in for set two, Moon displayed the talent that helped it garner the No. 4 seed in the Class AAAA bracket. Behind the powerful swings of sophomore Molly Simmons, who tallied three kills in the early going, Moon raced to a 7-1 lead. Undaunted, veteran North Allegheny shook off the deficit and rolled to a 25-17 victory. Senior Hannah Phillips totaled three kills, including a pair of kills for the final two points in the second set.

Phillips picked up where she left off in set three, with four kills early on as NA built a 12-5 lead. With a team-high 11 kills, Phillips was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Leading by seven, North Allegheny went on a 10-0 run thanks in part to the terrific serves of Caroline Curran. The freshman tallied a pair of aces during the run which proved to be the backbreaker for Moon. North Allegheny cruised to the finish for a 25-8 triumph and a 3-0 sweep of Moon.

Caroline Curran totaled four aces to lead the team in that category. Other contributors included senior Madi Curran with four kills out of the middle. Senior libero Malia Duffy paced the NA defense with a team-high 15 digs and Paige Miller posted nine. Senior Abby Miller dished out 12 assists and notched six digs. Junior Paige Morningstar distributed a team-best 14 assists.

North Allegheny improves to 18-0 on the season with its 65th consecutive win. NA will take on third-seeded Canon-McMillan on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Moon, 10-30-19

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY SETS123FINAL
Moon191780
North Allegheny2525253