Peters Township wins first WPIAL volleyball title
Pleasantly surprised described Chris Kelly after his Peters Township girls volleyball team swept Pine-Richland, 3-0, to capture the WPIAL Class 4A championship.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “I can’t believe it,”
Unfathomable was the fact that the Lady Indians were making their first appearance in a championship match. They were also looking to avenge a previous loss to the Rams in a non-section match played on Sept. 29.
The Indians though had shared the Section I crown with Upper St. Clair, posting a 9-1 record, before entering the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
After a first-round bye, Peters Township dispatched Canon-McMillan, 3-1, in the quarterfinals and North Catholic, 3-0, in the semifinals to reach the championship match.
Meanwhile the Rams finished as runners-up to North Allegheny with a 6-4 slate in Section II. Seeded sixth, Pine-Richland upset the Tigers, 3-0, in the WPIAL semifinals after sweeping Seneca Valley and Greater Latrobe, 3-0, in the earlier rounds of the tournament.
On their home court, the AHN Arena, Peters Township dominated the Rams. After eking out the first game, 26-24, they won the next two, 25-21 and 25-11, to clinch the championship.
Progress was the hallmark of Peters Township’s run-up to the title.
“They have gotten so much better as the season progressed,” Kelly said. “We talked about getting better each day, and I think they’ve done it. I think we’re playing our best volleyball of the season. And that’s what you want to do.”
The Lady Indians showed poise and improved as the match progressed. They rallied from a 21-19 deficit to pull out the first set, winning eight of the last 11 points. In the second game, they jumped into the lead quickly, scoring the first five points. They never trailed after that then breezed to a win in the third set.
The front line of Maddie Carroll and Elle Gorman dominated. Their wicked returns had the Rams guessing.
“Our blocking wasn’t sure where to go,” said Pine-Richland head coach Angela Semen.
Carroll led with 12 kills. Fellow sophomore Alex Knox followed with 11.
“I had a feeling it would be like this,” Carroll said.
“I think we worked really hard in all of our games and we perfected it,” she added. “I knew from the first ball we were going to win it.”
With the win, Peters Township improved to 16-3 overall and advanced to face Manheim Township in the first round of the PIAA tournament, which commenced Nov. 4.
“I wouldn’t have thought we’d go this far,” said Gorman. “This was a strong example of how we can play together as a team. We played for each other and that got us through.”
Kelly’s coaching expertise was an added asset.
While the Lady Indians were new to the championship contest, Kelly was not. He previously coached at Baldwin. During his tenure, the Highlanders reached the finals four times in five years, 2014-28. They captured two crowns.
“It’s an honor to win a WPIAL title at two schools,” Kelly said. “There can’t be too many coaches who have done that in WPIAL history. I’m very proud of that.”
Kali Holmes is proud of the team’s camaraderie. The libero is one of only two seniors in the starting line-up. The other is Kenzie Langlois, the squad’s setter. Both gained All-WPIAL honors along with Carroll.
“Our team worked so hard together,” said Holmes. “I knew coming into the season that we were capable of doing this. We have great team chemistry.”
Among the other players contributing to Peters Township’s success included: seniors Alex Sciullo, Carlee Stebelsky, Allison Oshnock and Keely Stiegel; juniors Bella Pekney, Liv Leehr, Eva Drake, Angelina Williams and Mara Radulovich; sophomores Lily O’Connor and Raia Lamping,
ALL-STARS
During the championship matches, the WPIAL Girls Volleyball Coaches Association announced its annual all-star teams. In addition to Carroll, Holmes and Langlois from Peters Township, Hayden Culp, Sarah McShane and Ellie Simons from Upper St. Clair as well as Canon-McMillan’s Natalie Carr and Journee Scott gained acclaim at the Class 4A level. A senior, Culp was making her third appearance on the list, second as a first-team outside hitter.
South Fayette and Chartiers Valley placed several players on the Class 3A list.
Juliette Leroux earned first-team honors as a middle hitter for the Lady Lions while Kylee Patridge gained second-team acclaim as an outside hitter,
For the Colts, Payton Friburger was a second-team outside hitter as a sophomore and Tessa Zemaitis was a third-team outside hitter as a junior.
PIAA PLAY
Peters Township opened PIAA tournament action with a 3-1 victory over Manheim Township (18-4) on Nov. 4 at AHN Arena.
After breezing through the first set, 25-14, the Indians dropped a 25-20 decision in the second. They clawed their way to a 25-22 win in the third game and clinched the match by winning the fourth, 25-20.
After winning handedly in the first game, Coach Kelly felt his team relaxed.
“They probably thought the other two sets would be as easy as the first, but Manheim came back and played hard,” he said. Kelly added his girls weren’t “phased” by the comeback of the Blue Streaks because they “play well under pressure.”
The pressure increased for Peters Township (17-3) as it advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. The Lady Indians faced Unionville (20-1), which defeated South Western, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22, in its first-round PIAA match.
The PIAA semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 11 and the championship finals are set for 6 p.m. Nov. 18 at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.
Editor’s Note: Freelance writer Joe Tuscano contributed to this story.