Tigers Sweep Baldwin, Head Back to WPIAL Title Match
By: Bob Orkwis
North Allegheny, last season’s 3A WPIAL Boys Volleyball champion, swept fourth-seeded Baldwin 3-0, as the Tigers will look for their WPIAL-best 24th title on Wednesday. North Allegheny posted the straight set win by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-13 in a match held at North Catholic High School.
Baldwin, who had won two straight and seven of its last nine matches, took a 3-1 lead in the first set, a set that featured multiple service errors from both teams. Trailing by a point, the Tigers rattled off a 6-0 run to take command. Baldwin got within two at 20-18, before North Allegheny scored five of the final six points for the set one win.
Set two was back-and-forth following an early North Allegheny lead. After the Tigers jumped in front, Baldwin scored a run of 5 out of six to tie the set at 6-6. With the score even at 9 all, North Allegheny posted an eight-point run and went on to the 25-17 set win. First team all-section hitter Brendan Moore was clutch in set two, as was sophomore Ethan Palmer. Moore led the Tigers on the night with 11 kills, while Palmer finished with four kills
and added four blocks.
Set three was again even early, before a seven-point service scoring run by Elliot Swierczynski tilted the set in North Allegheny’s favor. The Fighting Highlanders got within five before the Tigers posted the final seven points for a 25-13 win, and another sweep.
First team all-section middle blocker Peter Bratich had two big kills late and closed out the match with a block point. That block was the fourth of the night for the senior.
Will Robertson led North Allegheny with 5 blocks and added 9 kills to go with five digs. Nathan May added 4 kills, a pair of blocks and 4 digs in the win. First team all-section defensive specialist Emmett Morris paced the Tigers with 7 digs. Josh Chou and Jackson Failla each had three assists for North Allegheny (12-0).
For the second straight time in the playoffs, Elliot Swierczynski took home the Wright Automotive Player of the Match honors. In addition to his set two service run, the senior led North Allegheny with 18 assists, three blocks, and he posted the team’s only ace.
It will be a rematch for North Allegheny on Wednesday at 8 PM at the AHN Arena at Peters Township High School. The #2 seed Butler pulled off a reverse sweep against Seneca Valley to advance to the championship match. The Tigers posted a pair of sweeps vs. Butler during the
regular season.
Baldwin and Seneca Valley will meet in the consolation match to determine the third team to qualify for the state playoffs from the WPIAL.
North Allegheny has won fourteen of the last eighteen WPIAL championships. Wednesday’s championship match will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL SUMMARY VS. BALDWIN 5-18-26
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin | 19 | 17 | 13 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
