
Tigers Tame Raiders In Senior Night Section Clash
by Jared Barton
Two of the top volleyball teams in Section 2-AAA battled in a five-game set from UPMC Court Tuesday evening as North Allegheny edged Seneca Valley, 3-2.
After giving up the first two points of opening stanza, NA locked in courtesy of senior Jax Wilhite who finished the set with seven kills and a block. Senior Varun Kaveti added three kills while sophomore Matthew LaMay notched three aces as the Tigers opened the match with a 25-14 win.
Seneca Valley responded in set two with strong play behind Grant and Jordan Hoover. Wilhite added four more kills while Kaveti had three more in the set. Junior Stone Gaertner also had three kills, but it wasn’t enough as the Raider evened the match with a 25-18 score.
North Allegheny regained the lead in set three as Wilhite notched five more kills. Freshmen Will Robertson and Brendan Moore each tallied three kills in the frame while fellow newcomer Peter Bratich had two kills and a block. Junior Nicolas Carioto also secured a critical ace and block.
The Tigers stormed ahead in set four, but the Raiders weren’t going down without a fight. NA led seven to three in the early stages, but Seneca eventually brought the score within one 13-12 and went on to score five more points in a row to take a 17-13 advantage. The Raiders won the set 25-19.
The final set went back and forth between the teams. Kaveti took over with five kills including the game winning play, but that was set up by a critical ace from freshman Emmett Morris. Robertson also had five kills in the final stanza as the Tigers finished off the Raiders 15-13.
Wilhite paced NA with 22 kills while Kaveti had a team-high four blocks. Junior Will Hahn led the Tigers with 29 digs.
Wilhite and Kaveti each earned a piece of the Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors on Senior Night.
North Allegheny improves to 8-3 overall on the season and finishes regular season section action at Pine-Richland on the road Thursday night. A win would secure a second-place finish in the section.
Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 5-9-23
GAME SUMMARY | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | FINAL |
Seneca Valley | 14 | 25 | 17 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
North Allegheny | 25 | 18 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 3 |