Deep bench plays big role in NA’s title run

It’s not unusual to see a high school volleyball coach use a lot of players during the regular season. It allows the coach to keep his players fresh and give younger players a chance to gain experience.

But when the postseason begins, most coaches will cut down on the number of substitutions they make and limit the number of players they use.

That is not the case with North Allegheny coach Dan Schall. Throughout the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, Schall used a rotation that included 13 players.

“We have a depth of talent in our program that has allowed me to use more players,” Schall said. “It allows us to showcase the strengths of each player, while hiding their weaknesses.”

Schall’s strategy worked to perfection once again as the Tigers claimed a fifth consecutive WPIAL Class 3A title and a fourth PIAA crown in a row.

“I don’t think any team we faced during the regular season used more players than we did,” Schall said. “The same is true for the playoffs. And all 13 players made a contribution in the WPIAL and PIAA title matches.”

Schall did make one significant change to his lineup this year — he switched from a 5-1 to a 6-2 offense.

Last season, his son Caleb ran a 5-1 offense and was one of only two WPIAL setters who were recognized on the PVCA all-state team.

This season, Schall used a two-setter offense with Caleb, a senior, sharing the setting duties with senior Jake Koch.

“We have two very talented setters and I wanted to give both playing time,” Schall said. “It also gave Caleb a chance to be an outside hitter when he rotated to the front row.”

The move also showcased Koch’s other talent.

“Jake is one of our best servers,” Schall said. “He had four serving aces in the state title match.”

Caleb Schall is one of only two players in North Allegheny’s lineup who played all six rotations. The other was Cole Dorn, a senior outside hitter who was also recognized on the PVCA all-state team last season.

Dorn missed a month of the regular season with a grade 3 ankle sprain. It was so bad that the Tigers didn’t know if he would make it back for the playoffs.

With Dorn out of the lineup, junior Jax Wilhite and senior Titus LaMay joined Caleb Schall in the outside hitter rotation. And both made a significant contribution, even after Dorn returned to the lineup. Wilhite recorded seven kills in the state title match, while LaMay registered four serving aces.

“Titus is also a good ballcontrol player,” Schall said. “We also had him step in during one more rotation to neutralize their best server Jacob Miller.”

Junior opposite Nico Sfeir and senior middle hitter Jack Birch stepped into the spotlight when Dorn was injured and continued their fine play in the postseason. Sfeir had 12 kills and four blocks in the state title match, while Birch had seven kills.

Birch was one of four middle hitters who played in the state title match. He was joined by seniors Ben Huet and Zach Brkovich, and junior Varun Kaveti. Brkovich recorded four blocks in the state title match.

“We were fortunate to have four quality middles,” Schall said. “That allowed us to keep them fresh. And all four got better as the season went on.”

We can’t forget North Allegheny’s backcourt. Senior Ryan Treser had 18 digs in the state title match. Also making a contribution in the backcourt were sophomore backrow specialist Will Hahn and senior serving specialist Stephen Laun.

“Ryan is one of the best liberos in the state and Will is our passing stabilizer,” Schall said. “Their passing allowed us to free up our hitters.”

Dorn returned to North Allegheny’s lineup at the end of the regular season and was the Tigers’ most dominant hitter in all seven playoff matches. He led all hitters in North Allegheny’s 3-1 win against Central Dauphin in the state title match with 21 kills.

“I’m so happy that Cole was able to return for the playoffs,” Schall said. “He worked so hard in rehab with the goal of coming back and helping us in the playoffs. It would have been tough to win both titles without him.”

North Allegheny was making its fifth consecutive appearance in the PIAA finals, as the Tigers placed second in 2017. During that fiveyear stretch, the Tigers have posted a 105-2 record, with the only other loss coming this season to Seneca Valley.

The nine seniors on this team collected three WPIAL and PIAA gold medals. It could have been four if it weren’t for the 2020 season being canceled by COVID19.

“This group of seniors deserves to win on the last day of the season in their senior year,” Schall said. “This group has lost one match since they started playing in seventh grade. That’s pretty remarkable.”

Losing nine players to graduation is a regular occurrence for Schall.

“Our typical senior class is 9-11 seniors,” he said. “Some people refer to that as rebuilding. I look at it as reloading.”

Wilhite, Sfeir, Keveti and Hahn are the four players who return next year.

“We also have a talented group of kids who have been waiting for their chance to play,” Schall said. “So I am optimistic for the future of our program.”