Tigers Best Rams In WPIAL Title Game Rematch
In a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class 4A championship and PIAA semifinals, the North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team earned a 3-1 win over rival Pine-Richland on Tuesday night at UPMC Court. The reigning state champions defeated the reigning WPIAL champions by set scores of 25-21, 21-25, 25-20 and 25-16. The Tigers have won 23 of their last 24 meetings in their head-to-head series with the Rams.
In what proved to be a tightly contest matchup throughout the night, the opening game set the tone with North Allegheny clinging to an 11-10 lead before scoring five straight points to take a 16-10 advantage. Senior Marin Dunaway hammered out six kills in the set, while senior Kyra Schmidt and freshman Molly Robertson each notched three kills to propel NA to a 25-21 win.
In set two, North Allegheny led 14-9 before a Pine-Richland time out sparked a rally. The Rams scored nine of the next 11 points to grab an 18-16 lead and held the advantage for the remainder of the set, claiming a 25-21 victory. Sophomore Isabelle Hoppe posted three kills and finished with 13 on the night.
Trailing 16-15 in set three, the Tigers scored four consecutive points to vault ahead, 19-16, and pulled out a 25-20 triumph. The dynamic duo of Dunaway and Schmidt powered the Tigers with six kills apiece. Dunaway totaled a team-best 17 kills on her way to Wright Automotive Player of the Match honors. Schmidt also tallied double digits in kills with 13, while adding seven digs and two aces.
Tied 15-15 in the fourth set, North Allegheny rattled off nine consecutive points to take a strangle hold of the contest and finished off the rams on a kill by senior Elysia Smith for a 25-16 win. Smith accounted for three of the final four points on the night and posted three kills, a block and an ace in set four. Senior Avery Butcher notched a pair of aces in the last set and posted a team-high 14 digs.
Also contributing to the victory, senior Caileigh Duffy delivered nine digs on defense. Senior Ariana Schiller chipped in with six kills and senior Jamie Frisco added five. Robertson dished out a team-leading 34 assists and added two aces.
North Allegheny sits at 2-0 overall and 1-0 in Section 1-4A. Pine-Richland slips to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the section. The Tigers will visit North Hills on Thursday for another section matchup.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 9-12-23
| GAME SUMMARY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| Pine-Richland | 21 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
