Senior moment at Canevin

Erin Cunningham has a chance to do something most girl volleyball players can only dream of. Cunningham, a senior at Bishop Canevin High School, has made three consecutive appearances in the WPIAL Class A title match and is hoping to make a return trip to the finals for an encore.

"Erin came to us as a freshman and started right away," Bishop Canevin coach Kevin Walters said. "She's a well-rounded player who is strong in all phases of the game. She works very hard and always does what's best for the team."

Bishop Canevin has faced Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL Class A title match three years in a row, but the Crusaders had to settle for a silver medal in two of those appearances.

"We won the title my sophomore year," said Cunningham, referring to the 2013 season. "And I scored the game-winning point. I was super happy. That's the most fun I've ever had playing volleyball."

Cunningham would like to experience that feeling one more time before leaving Bishop Canevin and beginning her collegiate career at Loyola University in Maryland.

"We have three goals coming into each season: to win section, WPIAL and PIAA titles," Cunningham said. "We've won the section title all three years and won the WPIAL title once. Winning all three would be a great accomplishment. It would be the perfect way to end my career."

Cunningham and Walters realize that winning all three titles is no easy task, especially since only one WPIAL team has won a PIAA Class A title in the past 12 years.

"If we can make it back to the WPIAL title match, Erin [Cunningham] and Bailey McDonald will make their fourth start in the finals," Walters said. "There can't be many girls [in WPIAL history] who started on four teams that made it to the WPIAL finals."

Bishop Canevin will most likely begin the 2015 season as the WPIAL favorite, as Cunningham and McDonald are among five returing starters for the Crusaders. Greensburg Central Catholic, last year's WPIAL and PIAA champion, was hit hard by graduation losses.

"We lost our libero and opposite to graduation," said Cunningham, who resides in Eighty-Four. "I volunteered to be our libero, but coach Walters said the team needs me as an outside hitter."

Cunningham, a 5-9 senior, played libero during the offseason for Renaissance Volleyball Club. As a member of Renaissance's 17-and-under squad, the team finished seventh in country in its division. The tournament was held June 23 to July 2 in New Orleans.

"This was my second year at nationals with Renaissance," Cunningham said. "We had the same players both years, except for our setter. We did much better this year. We had much better chemistry on and off the court. It's a lot of fun playing on a team of all-stars."

Cunningham will continue her athletic and academic careers at Loyola, Md.

"Loyola was one of the first schools that was interested in me," Cunningham said. "The campus is super pretty and not far from home, only 3 1/2 to 4 hours away. It's the right fit for me."

Cunningham was originally recruited by former Loyola coach Jake Lawrence. Alija Pettinger, who was hired in January after spending six years in the same position at Fairfield University, made the scholarship offer.

"I was really impressed by the new coach," Cunningham said. "It was also good to see two players who I used to play with us at Renaissance."

Cunningham was referring to Bethel Park graduate Stacey Kazalas and Elizabeth Forward grad Corri Waters, who are both sophomores for the Greyhounds. Cunningham is one of two seniors from the WPIAL who have committed to Loyola. The other is Freeport's Zoe Pawlak.

"Zoe was one of my Renaissance teammates," Cunningham said. "She was an outside hitter and I was a passer. I look forward to having her as a teammate at Loyola."