Tigers Start 2021 With Title At NA Invitational

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A tradition that marks the beginning of the spring volleyball season, the North Allegheny Invitational was held on Saturday and the 2021 “mini-tournament” was won by the host Tigers with a perfect 8-0 showing on the day. The two-time reigning PIAA champions (2018, 2019) rolled through the invitational and won tournament gold with a 2-0 win over Thomas Jefferson in the finals.

The tournament was a double-round robin format with NA, TJ and Plum. In the first round, North Allegheny defeated Plum 25-10, 25-10, and then Thomas Jefferson, 25-10, 25-15. In the round two, the Tigers triumphed over the Mustangs 25-8, 25-12, and topped the Jaguars 25-11, 25-15.

Thomas Jefferson defeated Plum, 26-24, to reach the finals. That’s where North Allegheny took take of TJ in a best-of-three final, 25-5, 25-13.

Head coach Dan Schall used multiple lineups throughout the day with great contributions from the entire roster. The offense was incredibly balanced with the team hitting .495 on the day. Seven players recorded double-digit kill outputs, including Michael Mosbacher (24), Cole Dorn (19), David Sanfillipo (17), Gavin Owens (14), Garrett Hrvoich (12), Timmy Ditka (12) and Luke Constantakis (10).

Setters Caleb Schall and Jake Koch dished out 66 and 40 assists, respectively, to facilitate NA’s high-efficiency attack. Peter Carioto topped the team in aces (9), followed by Mosbacher (6) and Hrvoich (5). Defensively, Carioto posted a team-best 22 digs, followed by Mosbacher (14), Madhu Vuyyuru (10) and Ryan Treser (9).

Following Saturday’s strong showing, North Allegheny will visit North Hills on Tuesday night in the Section 2-AAA opener at 7:00 p.m.