Boys athlete of the week
// The Post-Gazette’s top male performer from the past seven days
The past week: Sanfilippo led North Allegheny with 12 kills, 7 blocks and a .556 hitting percentage in the Tigers’ 3-1 win against Central Dauphin in the PIAA Class 3A title match Saturday at Penn State’s Recreation Hall. In four PIAA playoff matches, the 6-foot-4 senior middle hitter combined for 38 kills and 19 blocks. Check this out: Sanfilippo had to wait until his senior year to start for the Tigers since the 2020 season was canceled by COVID-19. Despite being a first-year starter, he led the
Tigers with 112 kills and a .513 hitting percentage for the season. He also recorded 217 kills, which ranked third on the team. The Tigers finished the season 19-0 and won their third consecutive PIAA title. Was it tough waiting until your senior year to start? It was very disappointing to have the 2020 season canceled, but it gave me more drive to be good this year. I trained very hard to improve my skills and be ready for the season.
How does it feel to be a PIAA champion? It’s great to see that our hard work paid off. Our goal was to win WPIAL and PIAA titles and we were able to reach both goals.
Are these your first gold medals? I was a member of the varsity team my sophomore year, so I received WPIAL and PIAA gold medals that year, but didn’t play in either title match. This year’s medals mean so much more to me since I was a starter. I have all four medals hanging up in my bedroom.
What’s more rewarding — a kill or a block for a point? That’s a really tough question. I enjoy both, but if I have to pick, I would say a kill for a point. How long have you been playing volleyball? It’s funny how I got into volleyball. I started in seventh grade. I was playing football and basketball at the time. My parents were talking to the parents of (Tigers teammate) Luke Constantakis at one of our practices. They told my parents that Luke was trying out for the volleyball team and that I should try out. I gave it a try and loved it.
Are you still playing basketball and football? I am no longer playing football, but I do play rec league basketball for the NABA during the winter. Will you be playing volleyball in college? I had planned on playing in college, but not playing in 2020 really hurt me. I will be attending Butler Community College with the goal of becoming a physical therapist assistant. It’s a two-year program. People might be surprised to know ...? I cut grass over the summer to make spending money. I have 18-20 lawns that I cut.