Senior leadership is key to Serra’s strong start
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Serra Catholic girls volleyball coach Keith Trahan finds his squad in a good position as they enter the second half of section play.
The Eagles are ranked No. 3 in WPIAL Class 2A after posting a 6-0 record in the first half of section play.
“Coming into the season, one of our goals was to earn a top-four seed in the playoffs,” Trahan said. “We still have a long way to go, but we are on track to reach that goal. We just have to take care of business.”
Freeport, the defending PIAA champion, is ranked No. 1, while North Catholic is ranked No. 2. Serra, Frazier and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart round out the top five. “There are quite a few good teams in Class 2A this year,” Trahan said. “There are at least 8-10 quality teams.”
Trahan has built his squad around three seniors: Outside hitter Julia Piccolino, libero Morgan Schoy and outside hitter Vanessa Tom. Piccolino is a threetime All-WPIAL selection who was first team the past two years. Schoy was a third-team selection last year.
“Our three seniors have provided great leadership,” Trahan said. “But it should be four seniors. Stephanie Schulte, who played middle and right side for us last year, is out with a knee injury. It happened right before the season started. We’re hoping to have her back for the playoffs. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Serra does have one blemish on its record. The Eagles lost, 3-1, to North Catholic in a non-league match. That’s why the Trojans are above the Eagles in the rankings.
Frazier
Frazier coach Mandy Hartman was surprised to see her squad win the 14team South Fayette tournament Saturday.
“I wasn’t expecting to win,” Hartman admitted. “Ten of the 14 teams were Class 4A or 3A and many of them are ranked.”
Frazier actually posted an 11-0 record in the tournament. The Commodores were 8-0 in pool, then advanced to the title game with wins against West Allegheny, 25-23 in the quarterfinals, and Bethel Park, 25-20 in the semifinals. In the title game, they beat Canon-McMillan, 25-18.
“This tournament gave my girls the opportunity to prove themselves against bigger schools,” Hartman said. “They rose to the occasion and exceeded my expectations. It was a complete team effort.”
It was the first regularseason tournament title for Frazier since 2010. “That was the year we won the WPIAL title,” Hartman said. “We won two or three tournaments that year.”
Hartman is glad to see her squad is getting some respect, with a No. 4 ranking in WPIAL Class 2A, after moving up in classification.
“I’m thrilled to be No. 4 in the rankings,” Hartman said. “But we still have the second half.”
Frazier went unbeaten in the first half of section play.
Still perfect
Tuesday marked the end of the first half of section play. Fifteen schools finished the first half unbeaten in their section.
Serra (6-0, Sec. 4) and Frazier (6-0, Sec. 3) are joined in Class 2A by Neshannock (60, Sec. 1), North Catholic (60, Sec. 2) and Freeport (6-0, Sec. 5).
Defending WPIAL champion North Allegheny (6-0, Sec. 1) is one of three unbeaten teams in Class 4A. The other two are Baldwin (7-0, Sec. 2) and Latrobe (5-0, Sec. 3).
The Class 3A list includes defending WPIAL champ Knoch (7-0, Sec 4). The other two unbeatens are Armstrong (7-0, Sec. 1) and Thomas Jefferson (7-0, Sec. 3).
In Class 1A, the unbeaten teams are defending WPIAL champ Bishop Canevin (6-0, Sec. 3), Beaver County Christian (7-0, Sec. 1), Carmichaels (7-0, Sec. 2) and Greensburg Central Catholic (6-0, Sec. 4).
Norwin and Greensburg C.C. still have one first-half match remaining due to a postponement.