Tigers Outlast Titans In WPIAL Quarterfinals, 3-1
By Randy Gore
Before a lively Saturday afternoon crowd at UPMC Court, the eight-time reigning state champion North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team opened the WPIAL playoffs with a 3-1 quarterfinal victory over the visiting Shaler Titans. The top-seeded Tigers earned the victory over the eighth-seeded Titans by set scores of 25-27, 25-23, 26-24 and 25-17.
A pair of undefeated section champions riding the wave of lengthy winning streaks, North Allegheny carried a streak of 12 consecutive victories and Shaler had won 13 in a row. These former section rivals also have a rich history of thrilling playoff matchups, including NA’s WPIAL championship win over Shaler in 2021 and NA’s quarterfinal-round upset against Shaler in 2014, when the eighth-seeded Tigers knocked off the top-seeded Titans.
In this contest, it was Shaler hoping for an upset of the No. 1 seed, and the Titans came out firing in set one on the strength of five kills and a block by junior Sophie Spynda. Knotted at 25-25, an error and an ace by senior Bella Hoffman allowed the Titans a 27-25 victory in the opening set.
Leading 19-15 in set two, Shaler had North Allegheny on the ropes before the Tigers displayed their mettle with four consecutive points to even the score at 19-19. The serving of junior Luana Tripon and senior Dede Alualu helped shift the momentum, and three kills and a block by junior Alicia Mokube spearheaded NA’s 25-23 comeback victory. Alualu finished with a team-high four aces and 16 digs, while Mokube totaled 13 kills and a team-best three blocks on the afternoon.
In set three, the Tigers garnered a 19-14 advantage before Shaler sparked a comeback of its own on the serving of senior Octavia Dixon and big swings from junior Aubrey Blank. Blank, who had seven kills in set two, tallied five more kills in set three to even the score at 21-21. With the score deadlocked at 24-24, a Shaler error and an ace by senior Reagan Riordan helped the Tigers pull out a 26-24 win. Riordan, the NA libero, tallied a team-best 24 digs.
North Allegheny jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set four and never trailed en route to a 25-17 win to complete a 3-1 triumph and quarterfinal round victory. The steady hand of junior Molly Robertson paced the offense with 20 kills with 14 digs on defense, and sophomore Carena Schiller chipped in with 11 kills. Also on defense, junior Keira Duffy made some spectacular plays to finish with 10 digs.
Senior setter Keely McMahon-Regan was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Match with a team-best 47 assists, adding nine digs and three aces in an outstanding all-around performance.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 13-2 overall, while Shaler’s season comes to a close at 13-4. The Tigers will take on rival Pine-Richland in the WPIAL semifinals at a date, site and time to be determined.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Shaler, 10-25-25
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaler | 27 | 23 | 24 | 17 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
