Non-section matches important
Playing in a section that has eight teams has made it tougher for Thomas Jefferson girls volleyball coach Ron Kelly to schedule non-section opponents.
“We have 14 section matches and participate in three tournaments, which leaves us with only two competition points for non-section matches,” Kelly said. “The teams competing in the other four [Class 3A] sections only have 12 section matches, which gives them a chance to schedule two more non-section matches.”
The reason for Kelly’s concern is that the WPIAL volleyball committee looks closely at how a team does against non-section competition when determining the playoff brackets.
Non-section matches will be especially important in determining this year’s WPIAL Class 3A bracket, since three quality teams — Moon, Latrobe and Oakland Catholic — have moved down from Class 4A in the WPIAL realignment.
“Class 3A is loaded this year with the three teams moving down,” Kelly said. “There are eight really good teams that have a legitimate shot of making it to the semifinals. Non-section matches will play a big part in the seeding process.”
Kelly’s choice for his two non-section opponents were Hampton, last year’s WPIAL runner-up, and Peters Township, a good Class 4A team.
“We opened the season with a 3-1 win over Peters Township, a team that went undefeated in the first half of section play,” Kelly said. “Then we played Hampton in what could be considered one of the best matches of the year. It was a five-set thriller that could have gone either way. Unfortunately, Hampton won the fifth set. That match was so close that if we played them 10 times, both teams would probably win five times.”
Competing in Section 3 is also a disadvantage for the Jaguars, who are currently ranked No. 4 in the WPIAL, since it is the weakest of the five sections.
“We didn’t lose a set in the first half of section play, and I doubt we will lose one in the second half,” Kelly said. “We get better competition in practice than we do in this section.”
Thomas Jefferson turned in an impressive performance at Saturday’s 16-team South Fayette tournament. The Jaguars posted a 5-1 record in pool play, then beat South Park, 25-19, in the quarterfinals; South Fayette, 25-19, in the semifinals; and Peters Township, 25-19, in the title game.
“I really like this tournament because of the competition,” Kelly said. “The 16team field included three good Class 4A teams — Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan and Peters Township — and good Class 3A teams like South Fayette, Trinity and West Allegheny.”
It’s the third time in a row that Thomas Jefferson made it to the South Fayette tournament finals. The Jaguars won in 2019 and placed second last year. No tournaments were held in 2019 due to COVID-19.
“I know the WPIAL committee doesn’t consider tournament play in the seeding process, but it was a big win for us,” Kelly said. “It’s a real confidence builder to win this tournament.”
Thomas Jefferson is led by Delaney Concannon, a senior outside hitter; Mia Fox, a junior setter/opposite; and senior libero Cate Galioto. Concannon was a first-team allWPIAL selection last year, while Galioto was a secondteam pick.
“Delaney is one of the best hitters in the WPIAL and Cate is one of the best liberos,” Kelly said. “Mia splits the setting duties with [senior] Julia Berberich, but is also a strong hitter when she rotates to the front row.”
Peters Township
When the 2022 season began, Bethel Park, CanonMcMillan and Upper St. Clair were the teams being considered as the favorite in Class 4A Section 2.
After compiling an 8-30 section record over the past three seasons, and a coaching change during the offseason, Peters Township wasn’t in the conversation.
When the first half of section play concluded Tuesday, Peters Township was the surprising leader with a 5-0 record.
“I’m not shocked at how well we have played,” said coach Chris Kelly, who stepped into the picture after spending the past eight years as Baldwin’s coach. “But I am a little surprised that we are undefeated.”
Kelly had five starters returning from a squad that placed fourth in the section last season with a 5-7 record.
“I was cautiously optimistic after seeing what I had to work with over the summer,” said Kelly, who is in his 20th year as an eighth grade science teacher at Peters Township Middle School.
Peters Township hasn’t won a section title since 2012, but Kelly isn’t celebrating yet.
“We may have gone undefeated in the first half, but it’s not going to get any easier in the second half,” Kelly warned. “We had to come back from 2-0 deficits against Bethel Park and CanonMcMillan in the first half. We can’t let that happen in the second half because teams will be prepared for us.”
Peters Township turned in an impressive performance at Saturday’s South Fayette tournament. The Indians made it to the finals before dropping a 25-19 decision to Thomas Jefferson in the title game.
“I was very happy with our performance at South Fayette,” Kelly said. “We had a 5-1 record in pool play, then beat Bethel Park (25-17) in the quarterfinals and CanonMcMillan (26-24) in semifinals. We blew a four-point lead in the game with CanonMcMillan and were down, 2423, but came back to score the next three points and win, 2624.”
The key to Peters Township’s surprising success has been the play of its returning starters: junior outside hitter Mailea Hufnagel, junior setter Claire Brula, senior libero Lizzy Syverson, junior opposite Lyla Josefoski and senior opposite Alexa Camill.
“Mailea was a setter/opposite in a 6-2 offense last year with Claire as the other setter,” Kelly said. “I moved Mailea to outside hitter because we needed her hitting. Claire has been doing all the setting in a 5-1 offense. That’s made us a much better team.”
Syverson has stabilized the Indians back row.
“Lizzy played some last year as a back row specialist,” Kelly said. “This year, she’s our libero. She’s been fantastic in the back row.”
Peters Township, ranked No. 5 in WPIAL Class 3A, opens the second half of section play Oct. 6 against Bethel Park.
“I can’t predict where we will be in a couple weeks,” said Kelly, when asked about the playoffs. “I just hope we continue to improve. It will be a tough road to hoe in the second half.”
Pine-Richland
With six starters returning, along with a talented freshman class coming in, Pine-Richland entered the 2022 season ranked No. 2 in WPIAL 4A. Four weeks have passed and the Rams are still No. 2 in the rankings.
“We lost two key starters to graduation, but with the talent we had coming back, and a bunch of freshmen coming in, I expected to be even better than we were last year,” coach Angela Seman said.
Pine-Richland placed third in Section 1 last year and advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals before suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Moon.
“This is our year to push for the WPIAL title,” said Seman, now in her second season as Rams head coach. “We have a good mix of experienced players and young talent.”
Pine-Richland finished the first half of play in Section 1 with a 4-1 record. The Rams only loss was to North Allegheny, the WPIAL champion four of the past five years.
“North Allegheny won the serve pass battle,” said Seman, referring to the Tigers’ 3-0 sweep on Sept. 14. “That made it hard for us to get our offense clicking. Their coach [Russ Hoburg] told me after the match that was the best they played all season.”
The rematch is Tuesday at North Allegheny.
“We have to improve our passing and serving,” said Seman, when asked what it will take to knock off the defending champions. “I reminded the girls that there is no pressure on us. We just have to play our game.”
The WPIAL realignment left Section 1 with only five teams. That allowed Seman to schedule seven non-section matches. The Rams have already defeated Moon, Mars, Penn-Trafford and Canon-McMillan. They still have matches remaining against Bethel Park, Shaler and Avonworth.
“Having so many non-section matches will give us a better look at some of the teams we may face in the playoffs,” Seman said. “It will also help us in the seeding if we can win all seven matches.”
Pine-Richland’s top returnee is senior outside hitter Kaili Doctor, a four-year starter who recently committed to North Carolina A&T. Doctor has been recognized on the PVCA all-state team the past two years.
“We have a large senior class who brings a lot of knowledge and maturity on and off the court,” Seman said. “Kaili is the leader of that group. She has really stepped up as our go-to hitter.”
Two freshmen who have stepped into the picture are setter/ opposite Isabelle Hoppe and libero Megan DeKunder.
“Both are very talented freshmen who replaced the two starters we lost to graduation,” Seman said. “Both have done a great job.
Hoppe has shared the setting duties with junior Sophia Morse, who is one of the returning starters.