South Fayette falls to North Catholic in WPIAL volleyball final
Photos: Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette claimed the runner-up trophy after falling to North Catholic, 3-1, in the WPIAL Class 3A girls’ volleyball championship match.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Ava Leroux (36) successfully hits the ball over the net and passed the outstretched arms of North Catholic blockers Katie McNelly (25) and Sydnei Jones during WPIAL championship action. Despite 17 kills by Leroux, South Fayette dropped a 3-1 decision to North Catholic in the Class 3A final.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Photos: Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette reserves react to a point scored during WPIAL volleyball championship action. After a string of three upsets in the tournament, the Lady Lions eventually lost the Class 3A title, falling to North Catholic, 3-1, in the final played Nov. 6 at Robert Morris University.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Despite the defensive efforts of Sydnei Jones of North Catholic, Fiona March (16) of South Fayette connects on a shot during WPIAL Class 3A girls’ championship volleyball action. With eight kills and 34 assists, Jones led the Trojans to victory over the Lady Lions, 3-1.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette’s Noelle Bair (35) and Ava Leroux (36) attempt to block a shot by Ally Feczko (16) of North Catholic during WPIAL Class 3A championship volleyball action. Despite their efforts, the Lady Lions lost to the Trojans, 3-1.
There was no fairy tale ending for South Fayette in its bid for a WPIAL championship in girls volleyball.
After recording upset wins against Armstrong, Hampton and Greater Latrobe, the Lions met their match when they succumbed to top-seeded North Catholic, 3-1, in the Class 3A final played Saturday at UPMC Events Center on the Robert Morris University campus.
“We went through a lot to get here,” said SF head coach Scott Sundgren.
Sundgren noted how the Lady Lions were down two games before jumping back and winning against No. 7 Armstrong, 3-2, in the playoff opener. Then they went to No. 2-seed Hampton and toppled the Talbots, 3-1. Next, South Fayette dispatched No. 3 Latrobe, 3-1, before tackling the Trojans, who have won four titles in the last five seasons, three of them though at the Class 2A level.
“That’s a lot to come through,” Sundgren said. “They worked really, really hard. I thought we played our hearts out. I was real proud of my girls.”
The Lions battled hard in the opening two sets but dropped both, 25-22 and 25-20, before winning the third game, 25-12. NC wrapped up the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth set.
“It came down to a few touches here and there,” Sundgren said. “When you get close games like that, it’s a few one way or the other; a missed point here or there.”
After easily winning the third set, Sundgren said that he knew the fourth would be a dogfight as the first two were. “Going into set four, you have to refocus and get set,” he said. “They are going to come out with momentum because they are not going to want to lose. I knew it was going to be a battle and it was.”
Sundgren was pleased with the efforts of the Leroux sisters. A 6-foot-3 senior, Ava had 17 kills while Juliette, a 5-10 freshman, had nine.
“They have been playing great,” Sundgren said of the siblings, “but our outside came to play and our setter looked good. I was happy with everybody.”
On the outside was Bella Bowers. The 5-8 senior recorded 13 kills. Noelle Bair, a junior setter, had 43 assists.
Olivia Brennan has three service aces while Ava Leroux and Morgan Saulle had two each.
Livia Chambers led with 13 digs. Brennan and Bowers followed with 11 each while Madisyn Jones finished with seven.
The Lions also received strong showings from Fiona March and Sydney Westfall in the match.
For the Trojans, Ally Feczko and Ella Koziara had 13 kills each. Sydnei Jones had 34 assists to go along with eight kills.
“I don’t think they have any more weapons than we do,” Sundgren said. “We have plenty of weapons.”
With the win, the Trojans improved to 19-1 overall. They shutout Latrobe, 3-0, in the opening round of the PIAA tournament. Mea
Meanwhile South Fayette ended its season after succumbing to Conneaut, 3-1, in a PIAA first-round match played Nov. 8 in Linesville. After splitting the first two sets, 19-25 and 25-14, the Lady Lions lost the next two, 25-23 and 27-25.
The Lady Lions ended their 2022 campaign with a 13-7 record after their loss to the District 10 champions.