Knoch perseveres, defends 3A crown
Knoch won the first set of the WPIAL Class 3A girls volleyball title match against Thomas Jefferson and was leading, 9-4, in the second set when junior outside hitter Hannah Rowe fell to the floor with an apparent knee injury.
Rowe struggled to get on her feet, but refused to come out of the lineup when Knights coach Diane Geist asked if she needed a sub. It was quite obvious that Rowe was in pain, but she played throughthe pain.
When Thomas Jefferson cut Knoch’s lead to 20-19, Rowe responded with three consecutive kills to lead the Knights to a 25-21 victory. Rowe recorded six more kills in the third set and finished with a match-high 14 kills, as the Knights claimed their second consecutive WPIAL title.
“I landed on somebody’s foot and twisted my ankle, then my knee gave out,” Rowe said. “It really hurt, but I’ve been through more pain than that. I have bad knee problems. I have loose tendons in my knee. It is hard to push through an injury like that in a match of this importance, with so much pressure.”
Rowe credited her teammates and her knee brace.
“I just try not to think about it. I just focused on the game. Everybody around me was picking me up. They kept telling me I would be OK. If it wasn’t for their encouragement, I don’t think I would have been able to do it. And this knee brace has been my savior.”
Middle hitter Kennedy Christy was proud of her teammate.
“Hannah has had knee problems for as long as I can remember,” said Christy, who had 10 kills. “Today she really pushed through it. I’m really proud of her.” Geist was also impressed. “Iwas worried. She is playing middle and outside for us, so if she came out of the lineup I would have needed two players to replace her. She was able to play through it. That says a lot about her as an athlete.”
With the WPIAL title secured, Knoch began its trek toward a second PIAA title with Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Elizabeth Forward. The Knights will face District 3 third-place finisher Dover in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
North Catholic
When Amanda Fetter took over as coach at North Catholic, her team kept telling her they wanted to “hang the banner and ring the bell.”
Her squad was referring to the many banners that appear in North Catholic’s gym that recognize the Trojans many WPIAL titles in various sports. Volleyball did not have a banner. But that
changed when North Catholic swept Frazier in the WPIAL Class 2A title match.
“It’s great to be the first volleyball team in school history to win a WPIAL title,” said Fetter, who spent the past seven years as PineRichland’s coach.
The team motto also refers to ringing a bell.
“They kept saying they wanted to ring the bell,” Fetter said. “I didn’t know what they were talking about until halfway through the season. There is a bell outside the chapel at our school. Only WPIAL champions can ring the bell and you have to be a senior.”
North Catholic opened the PIAA tournament with Tuesday’s 3-0 win against North Star.The Trojans will face defending state champion Freeport in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
North Allegheny
North Allegheny sophomore Paige Morningstar received a second WPIAL gold medal when the Tigers swept Baldwin in the Class 4A final.
But this one means more toher than the first.
“I was a sub last year, so I didn’t play in the WPIAL or PIAA playoffs,” Morningstar said. “This year, I started. So this title means a lot more to me.”
North Allegheny coach Heidi Miller switched to a 6-2 offense this season to get Morningstar into the lineup. That meant returning setter Abby Miller would share the setting duties with Morningstar.
“It was difficult at the start of the season since both of us were used to running a 5-1 offense,” Morningstar said. “Butit worked out fine.”
With Miller and Morningstar running the offense, North Allegheny dominated competition in the WPIAL.
The Tigers began their trek toward a second consecutive PIAA title with Tuesday’s 3-0 win against Erie McDowell. They will face Baldwin in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Bishop Canevin
Bishop Canevin made its seventh consecutive appearance in the WPIAL Class 1A final and came away with a 30 sweep of Carmichaels to claim its fourth title.
Bishop Canevin saw its season come to an end with Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Northern Cambria in the first round of the PIAA tournament. It’s the third consecutive year the Crusaders lost inthe first round.