Talented OLSH surprising 6 seed
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was as high as No. 2 in the Post- Gazette’s WPIAL Class 1A girls volleyball rankings during the 2021 season. The Chargers finished No. 3 when the regular season ended, but were seeded No. 6 when the WPIAL released its brackets on Friday.
As chairman of the WPIAL volleyball committee, Chargers coach Mike McDonald could have insisted that his squad be seeded higher. Instead, he did the opposite.
“There was no way I could prove that my team was better than the teams seeded ahead of us because we didn’t play them during the regular season,” McDonald said. “The only team ahead of us in the seeding that we played was [ top- seed and defending WPIAL champion] Bishop Canevin and they beat us twice in section play.”
McDonald did schedule two non-section opponents that he thought would win their section, but neither lived up to their preseason billing.
“I scheduled a match against Fort Cherry, but they finished third in Section 2. I scheduled Beaver County Christian, but they finished second in Section 1.”
With that in mind, as he always does, McDonald let the committee decide where to seed OLSH.
“I gave them the facts, then let them make the decision,” McDonald said. “It was the prudent thing to do.”
Mapletown was an easy No. 2 choice after the Maples went undefeated in Section 2. The tie for first place in Section 4 between Greensburg Central Catholic and Leechburg made the seeding process more difficult.
“Leechburg won in five sets the first time they played, but Greensburg Central swept them in the second half,” McDonald said. “With that in mind, the committee decided to seed Greensburg Central No. 3 and Leechburg No. 4. Union was the other section champ, so they were seeded No. 5.”
OLSH drew the No. 6 seed and swept Western Beaver on Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs. The Chargers will face Greensburg Central in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
McDonald wasn’t sure what to expect when the season began, as the Chargers had only two starters returning: 5-8 senior setter Kaleigh Costantino and 5-5 senior outside hitter Elle Burke.
“I thought we had the talent to be a competitive team, despite having only two starters back,” McDonald said. “It was just a question of how quickly the other starters would mature. Kaleigh and Elle have provided the leadership we need and the other starters have matured enough to make us a serious contender in the playoffs.”
Class 4A
It’s not often that a thirdplace team gets seeded No. 5 in a WPIAL bracket. But in the case of Pine-Richland, the seeding was deserved. That’s how much stronger Section 1 is than the other sections in Class 4A.
North Allegheny, the WPIAL champ three out of the past four years, received the top seed after tying with Shaler for the top spot in the section. The Titans received the No. 2 seed, while the other two section champs — Oakland Catholic (Sec. 3) and Moon (Sec. 2) — were seeded No. 3 and No. 4.
In fact, Pine-Richland could have been seeded as high as No. 4, as the Rams swept Moon in a non-section match. But it doesn’t matter whether you are seeded No. 4 or No. 5 because the two will meet in the quarterfinals, assuming both teams win in the first round.
And that’s just what happened in Tuesday’s first round. Pine-Richland swept Norwin, while Moon pulled out a five-set thriller with Hempfield. That sets up Thursday’s rematch in the quarterfinals.
“One thing I have been stressing to the girls all year is that you can’t take any team lightly, especially in the playoffs,” first- year coach Angela Seman said. “Any team can turn it on and beat us if we are looking ahead. We must be prepared for any situation.”
Pine-Richland dealt with some injury situations during the regular season. Kaili Doctor, a 5-10 junior outside hitter who was a second-team all-WPIAL selection last year, missed six matches with a shoulder injury.
“It was tough having Kaili out that long, but she is back and better than ever for the playoffs,” Seman said. “We also had four kids out for our [non-section] loss to Penn-Trafford, including Sophie Catalano, who was on a recruiting visit at Clemson.”
Catalano, a 5-10 senior opposite who was first-team all-WPIAL last year, committed to Clemson.
“I’m happy to say that we are healthy for the playoffs,” Seman said. “I’m so pleased how much the girls have grown as a team during the season. We’re looking forward to the rematch with Moon.”
And maybe a third match with North Allegheny, if they can get past Moon again.
Class 2A
Neshannock coach Jenny Bollinger was happy to receive the No. 4 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A bracket after placing second in Section 1.
“Sections 1 and 2 are the strongest of the Class 2A sections and the brackets reflect that,” said Bollinger, now in her third season.
Defending champion North Catholic, the Section 2 champion, is seeded No. 1, while Avonworth, the Section 2 runner-up, is seeded No. 2. Section 1 champion Laurel is seeded third. Neshannock claimed the No. 4 seed with its 3-1 upset of Laurel in last Thursday’s section finale.
“Our section is really difficult,” Bollinger said. “We had some really great matches against Laurel, Ellwood City and Shenango during the season. The stiff competition we faced should help us in the playoffs.”
Neshannock may have finished strong, but struggled a bit in the first half. The Lancers lost, 3-2, to Ellwood City in their second section match, but rebounded with a 3-2 win against Shenango. Two weeks later, Bollinger’s squad dropped a 3-1 decision to Laurel.
“We crashed in our first home game this year against Ellwood City,” Bollinger said. “It was a game changer for us. The girls’ mental toughness finally clicked in after that match. If we can stay mentally tough, I feel we have enough talent to make a run to the finals.”
The Lancers enter the playoffs with a seven-match winning streak. They open the playoffs Wednesday against Brentwood, a 3-1 winner against Derry in Monday’s preliminary round.
Bollinger has built her squad around 5-11 senior middle hitter Maya Mrozek and 5-10 senior outside hitter Addi Watts.
“Maya is very smart about the game. She watches film of our opponents and is constantly thinking about strategy. Addi is our motor. The two of them started in seventh grade together,” Bollinger said. “It’s been fun to watch them mature together.”