Mt. Lebanon falls in volleyball semifinals
Alexa Pavlick (No. 11) and Katherine Bates (No. 24) of Mt. Lebanon attempt to block a hit by North Allegheny’s Meg Morningstar. Despite the defensive stop, Morningstar paced the Tigers to a three-game sweep, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22, against the Blue Devils in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals played at Baldwin.
Angela Smith serves the ball during Mt. Lebanon’s semifinal playoff volleyball match against North Allegheny. The Blue Devils dropped the match, 3-0, and fell into a WPIAL consolation match against Seneca Valley. The winner of the contest set for 1 p.m. Nov. 1 at Baldwin will advance to the PIAA tournament.
North Allegheny swept Mt. Lebanon, 3-0, in a WPIAL Class AAA girls’ semifinal volleyball match played at Baldwin.
With the victory, the Tigers advanced to the district championships set for 6 p.m. against Baldwin while, the Blue Devils will play a consolation match against Seneca Valley at 1 p.m. in an attempt to gain a PIAA tournament playoff berth. Both matches will be played Nov. 1 at Baldwin.
“We have to be ready to play,” explained Lebo head coach Mike Switala, “or our season is over.”
Essentially, Lebo’s quest for a WPIAL title came to an end precisely because the Blue Devils were not prepared to play. The Tigers won the first game, 25-23. They dominated the second set, 25-18. Though Lebo jumped ahead in the third game, 6-1, NA recovered to tie the match, 10-10, then forge a 16-15 advantage it never relinquished until posting the 25-22 triumph.
“We did not play well in any game at any point in time,” Switala said. “We did not have our usual performance. Give NA credit. They came to play and we were not mentally ready to play the game.”
Mt. Lebanon advanced to the Final Four in the tournament by topping Norwin, 3-1, in the quarterfinals and by edging Penn-Trafford, 3-2, in the first round of the WPIAL tournament.
Canevin advances
Bishop Canevin will battle Greensburg Central Catholic for the Class AA championship at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 at Baldwin. This is the third meeting in a row for the teams. The Centurions won the WPIAL title in 2012 while the Crusaders claimed the crown in 2013.
Both breezed their way into the finals. The Crusaders defeated Neshannock, 3-0, while GCC beat Shenango, 3-0.
Canevin advanced to the Final Four with victories against New Brighton, 3-0, and Serra Catholic, 3-1.