Seneca Valley grad anchors Pitt’s defense
Tri-State Sports & Services
As a libero for the Pitt women's volleyball team, Angela Seman faces shots that reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. This can lead to some riveting moments, particularly when she goes crashing to the floor or expertly contorts her body to keep a play alive.
“When I first got to college, it was frightening to see the ball coming so fast,” said Seman, a redshirt junior from Seneca Valley High. “It took some time to get used to it.”
Bumps and bruises go with the territory for this back-line defender. Seman has pulled a hamstring and injured a hip flexor, to go with the standard aches and pains.
On one occasion, she risked life and limb (or was that limbs?) when she nearly crashed into the band to run down a ball.
Seman, fortunately, survived ... and the Panthers turned it into a point.
“I like that I get to back my team up, and that I have their trust,” said Seman, a team captain.
A three-year starter, Seman has played an integral role for a Panthers team (16-5, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) that recently reeled off 13 consecutive victories. With 10 regular-season games remaining, Pitt is seeking an ACC title, a fourth consecutive 20-win season and a second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. The Panthers had not been to the tournament in 11 years prior to last season.
“It's been amazing to see this program grow,” said Seman, among the taller libero's in the nation at 5 foot 9. “It's a family atmosphere, and we play for each other.”
One of two WPIAL alums on the roster (Kylee Levers of Chartiers-Houston is the other), Seman leads the Panthers with 256 digs Her career total of 1,274 ranks seventh on the program's all-time list.
She's also been named to multiple all-tournament teams, including the Panther Invitational last season.
The art of digging -- preventing the ball from hitting the floor -- takes instincts, athleticism and body control. Players such as Seman must not only get to those sizzling shots, but accurately direct them to their teammates.
This can be a challenging proposition, per fifth-year coach Dan Fisher.
“To use a baseball analogy, most servers serve what is essentially a knuckleball,” said Fisher, who led the Panthers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016. “So, the hardest skill (for a libero) is what we call tracking -- figuring out where the ball will end up. You have to be able to read the server's arm and develop a great ability to know where the ball will go, because it's floating and moving all the time. Ang is good at both of those things.”
After a stellar career at Seneca Valley, where Seman and older sister Katie (who played collegiately at Rhode Island) helped the program to a WPIAL title in 2011, she took a redshirt as a freshman. This proved to be a turning point for the sociology and early education major.
Why? Because the mentoring provided by former Panthers libero Delaney Cleesen, who ranks second all-time at the school in digs, was invaluable. Seman said Cleesen armed her with the necessary confidence and skill set to face top-notch competition in the ACC and beyond.
“I learned everything from Delaney,” said Seman, whose younger sister, Isabella, plays at Elon University.
“I watched closely; she was so talented. ... Like her, I want to give this team everything I have. I want to help us win the ACC and go further in the NCAA Tournament.”