Tigers Breeze By Golden Tornado In PIAA Semifinals
By Randy Gore
It’s rare for two opponents to face each other four times in a single season, and it’s even more rare for one team to win all four matchups. However, that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night at Fox Chapel High School, as WPIAL champion North Allegheny defeated section rival Butler, 3-0, in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals. The Tigers secured their 16th consecutive sweep of the season by set scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 25-16.
Butler was playing without first-team All-WPIAL outside hitter Andrew Slaughenhoup, a Penn State Behrend commit, and the Tigers immediately pounced on the shorthanded Golden Tornado. NA stormed out of the gates in set one for a 10-1 lead and never looked back in a one-sided contest from start to finish.
Senior Will Robertson led the way with a team-high 10 kills and four aces. In a well-rounded effort, Robertson added four digs and two blocks on his way to Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.
NA battered Butler with a barrage of big swings, including seven kills from senior Brendan Moore. Seniors Ethan May and Peter Bratich totaled five kills each, and sophomore Ethan Palmer chipped in with four kills and a team-best three blocks. Senior setters Elliot Swierczynski and Jackson Failla facilitated the attack with 20 and 13 assists, respectively. Senior libero Emmett Morris paced the defense with 11 digs, followed by Moore with nine.
North Allegheny improves to 16-0 on the season and will advance to face Landisville Hempfield in the PIAA Class 3A championship on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network. Butler, who was in appearing in the PIAA semifinals for the first time in program history, concludes the year with an 18-6 record.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARY VS. BUTLER, 6-9-26
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 13 | 17 | 16 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
