South Fayette wins PIAA volleyball opener
South Fayette began its quest for a state championship in boys volleyball when the Lions dispatched Martinsburg Central, 3-1, in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament.
With the win, the Lions improved to 19-1 overall and moved on to play the winner of the Brandywine Heights (18-2) vs. Holy Redeemer (19-3) match in the quarterfinals played June 6.
The PIAA semifinals are set for June 9 and the finals scheduled for 11 a.m. June 13 at Rec Hall on the Penn State University campus.
South Fayette head coach Scott Sundgren dubbed the match against Martinsburg Central a “good” one.
“Central is a good team that controls the ball well,” he said. “We had a lot of unforced errors early in the match, but cleaned it up as we got to the third set.”
The Lions split the first two sets, winning the first, 25-18, and dropping the second, 25-23. They swept the next two games, 25-21 and 25-12, to win the match.
Dilsher Goraya led the uprising. The senior outside hitter finished with 37 kills.
“Dilsher really came alive in sets three and four,” said Sundgren.
Quinn Leroux and Arya Pamecha followed Goraya with 11 and nine kills respectively.
In other first-round action, Shaler (16-1), which beat the Lions for the WPIAL title, swept Obama Academy, 3-0, winning sets 25-7, 25-11, 25-6.
Meanwhile, Seton-LaSalle succumbed to District 1 champion Meadville in three sets, 25-16, 25-9, 25-20. The Rebels finished the season with a 21-2 record and as the third-place finisher in the WPIAL.
In PIAA first-round lacrosse play, the South Fayette boys beat Cathedral Prep, 18-6, at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie while the Lady Lions succumbed to Wyomissing, 18-1.
The Ramblers were the District 10 champion while the South Fayette boys were the WPIAL runner-up. The Lions improved to 14-7 with the victory and faced Lampeter-Strasburg (21-2) in the quarterfinals played June 6 while Prep finished the season at 10-8 overall.
Meanwhile the Lady Lions succumbed to Wyomissing, 18-1. South Fayette finished the season with a 13-8 record. The Lady Lions were the third-place finisher in the WPIAL while Wyomissing (21-1) were the District 1 champion.
Lebo split
In Class 3A, Mt. Lebanon also posted a split decision during PIAA lacrosse opening action.
The Lebo girls dispatched Cumberland Valley, 16-10, at Shady Side Academy while the Blue Devil boys dropped a 10-6 decision to Manheim Township (16-0).
Despite falling behind, 4-1, the Lebo girls scored twice in the first-quarter’s final 30 seconds to tie the match, 4-4.
“We tightened up on defense and then went on a good run to grab the lead by halftime,” said Lebo skipper Brian Kattan. “After the first six minutes of the game, we played well. It was a total team effort.”
Seven players scored for Mt. Lebanon and eight of the 16 goals were assisted.
Quinn Murdoch led the offensive attack with five goals and an assist. Cali Green recorded a hat trick while McKenna Wertz, Lucy Pryor and Aubrey Betler had two goals each. Grace Manning and Ann Tinnemeyer added single tallies.
Manning finished with five assists. Pryor and Caitlin Tetlow also notched assists.
Nina Crago was credited with five assists, three in a pivotal third quarter. She was backed on defense by Betler, Lily Cramer, Chloe Shea and Rainiah Turnbull.
“It was a very good all-around game with everyone playing well and as a team,” Kattan emphasized.
With the loss, the Lebo boys finished the season at 17-3 overall while the girls improved to 18-2 overall. They were the WPIAL champions.
The PIAA semifinals are set for June 9 and the championships are scheduled for June 13 at Panzer Stadium on the Penn State University campus. Games begin at 10 a.m. with the Class 2A girls final and conclude with the Class 3A boys final at 5:30 p.m.