Top-Ranked NA Sinks Seneca Valley To Remain Unbeaten
By: Randy Gore
The North Allegheny girls’ volleyball team hosted Seneca Valley on Wednesday night for a Section 1-6A clash and claimed a 3-1 victory to remain unbeaten on the season. The Tigers prevailed by set scores of 25-22, 17-25, 25-17 and 25-20.
In a battle of two top-10 teams in the state, the ninth-ranked Raiders jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the first set before senior Alicia Mokube turned the tables on the visitors with a dominant performance. The University of Albany commit punished Seneca Valley with six kills and two aces in game one to help NA build a 19-14 advantage. The Raiders rallied to knot the score at 20-20, but junior middle hitter Paige Shanahan chipped in with three kills, including two crucial kills down the stretch, to help the Tigers pull out a 25-20 victory.
In the second set, North Allegheny held a 9-6 lead before Seneca Valley’s strength at the service line flipped the momentum. George Mason University commit Kennedy Hummert and Pitt-Johnstown commit Cameron Mueller sparked the rally as the Raiders took nine of the next 11 points to grab a 15-11 lead. Hummert produced a pair of aces, while Mueller peppered the Tigers with five kills to lead SV to a 25-17 win and tie the match at 1-1. Mueller tallied a team-best 14 kills on the night for the Raiders.
Leading 8-4 in set three, North Allegheny used a 7-0 run to seize control and cruised to a relatively easy 25-17 win. Junior outside hitter Carena Schiller paced the attack with six of her eight kills in set three.
Hoping to force a decisive fifth set, Seneca Valley jumped out to an 8-2 lead in game four. Raiders sophomore Addison Corbett delivered four kills and an ace, but the six-point lead wasn’t enough thanks to Mokube’s torrid hitting and senior Keira Duffy’s spirited defense. On her way to a match-high 18 kills, Mokube tacked on seven kills in the fourth and final set. Penn State University commit Molly Robertson added four kills, including the final two points of the match to secure a 25-20 victory. She also finished with a team-best four blocks. Junior outside hitter Ella Lange also tallied four kills, but it was the defense and hustle of Duffy that stole the show. The senior defensive specialist totaled a team-high four aces, along with 13 digs, many of which of the spectacular variety, to earn Wright Automotive Player of the Match honors.
Overall, junior libero Vivienne Deily-Nelson led the team in digs with 19. Junior setter Sydney Klaich facilitated the offense with a team-high 26 assists and added two aces. Robertson delivered another all-around strong performance with 10 kills, nine assists, seven digs and two aces.
North Allegheny, the top-ranked Class 6A team in the state, improves to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in Section 1. Seneca Valley slips to 6-3 overall and 0-2 in the section. The Tigers return to action on Thursday night with a non-section visit to Norwin.
Girls Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 9-23-26
| SCORE BY SETS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seneca Valley | 22 | 25 | 17 | 20 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 25 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
