Stairway To Seven; NA wins 7th Straight State Championship
The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team won a seventh consecutive PIAA championship on Saturday evening with a 3-0 sweep over Unionville at Cumberland Valley High School in the Class 4A title tilt. The streak of seven consecutive titles is the second most in PIAA history, behind only Norwin’s nine consecutive state crowns from 1976-1984. The state title was NA’s 12th overall, also the second most in PIAA history.
Facing Unionville in the championship match for the second time in the last four seasons, North Allegheny handled the Longhorns in set one, 25-19. Senior Marin Dunaway notched five of her team-high 11 kills to power in the Tigers in game one.
The Tigers jumped out to an 8-1 lead in set two and cruised to another 25-19 win. Senior Kyra Schmidt notched four kills in set two and finished with 10 on the night.
Unionville fought back in the third set and held a 12-5 lead before North Allegheny rallied. Freshmen Molly Robertson and Alicia Mokube accounted for the final two points to secure a 26-24 win and a 3-0 sweep of the Longhorns.
Robertson posted seven kills and senior Jamie Frisco totaled six kills. Robertson dished out 21 assists, followed by junior setter Mack Jones with 16. Jones added a pair of aces and eight digs in a fine all-around effort.
Mokube and senior Ariana Schiller clogged the middle of the net with two blocks each. Senior libero Avery Butcher paced the defense with 14 digs, while Schmidt and senior defensive specialist Caileigh Duffy tallied 10 digs each.
The North Allegheny seniors were named the Wright Automotive Players of the Match.
NA concludes the season with a 20-1 overall record, while Unionville suffers its first loss and ends the year with a 25-1 mark. Congratulations to head coach Russ Hoburg and the entire North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team for another historic and championship winning season.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Unionville, 11-18-23
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
| Unionville | 19 | 19 | 24 | 0 |