Girls Volleyball: WPIAL Semifinal Round-Up
The Mars High School girls volleyball team made it three for three with a victory in the WPIAL Class AA semfinals last night North Allegheny High School.
"We are the third team from Mars to make it to the WPIAL finals," Planets coach Dan Mountain said. "The boys and girls soccer teams won in the semifinals last night [Wednesday], and now we win tonight [Thursday]. It's great that all three championship matches are at Chartiers Valley."
Mars, the No. 3 seed, earned its first WPIAL title berth with a 25-10, 25-15, 25-17 sweep of No. 7 Ambridge. The Planets were led by Abby Matusik (16 kills) and Melanie Dinderman (25 digs).
Mountain's squad will face top seed and defending champion Hopewell in the title match, Saturday at 4:15 at Chartiers Valley. The Planets girls soccer team will face Moon in the WPIAL final at 4:30 p.m., while the boys team faces Quaker Valley in a 6:45 p.m. title match.
* Hopewell earned its eighth title berth in 11 years with a 3-1 win against Indiana, despite losing the first game 25-21. The Vikings also trailed in the second set, but scored seven of the last ten points to record a 25-23 victory. The last two games were also close, but Hopewell survived with wins of 26-24 and 27-25.
* Mt. Lebanon, the No. 4 seed in Class AAA, earned its third title berth in six years with a 3-0 sweep of top-seed Oakland Catholic, in a semifinal match held at Chartiers Valley High School. Caroline Grattan led the Blue Devils with 22 kills.
"Five members of this team were on last year's team that lost in the semifinals," Blue Devils coach Jeff Schilling said. "The experienced they gained in that match played a big part in our victory."
Oakland Catholic held leads of 14-6 and 24-20 in the first set, but Mt. Lebanon scored eight of the next ten points to pull out a 28-26 victory. The Blue Devils took charge in the next two sets recording 25-22 and 25-17 victories.
* Fox Chapel, the No. 3 seed in Class AAA, earned its first title berth with a 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 24-26, 29-27, 15-13) win against No. 2 North Allegheny. It was the third time the two teams have met this season and Fox Chapel wins the rubber match. The Foxes were led by Riley Herrmann (17 kills), Megan Hollingsworth (15 kills), Sarah Bradley (13 kills), Marcy Meinert (23 digs), and Allyson Hess (42 assists).
* Greensburg C.C., the top seed in Class A, swept No. 4 West Shamokin 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 to earn its third title berth. The Centurions made previous appearance in the finals in 2007 and 2009, but had to settle for a silver medal both times. Greensburg C.C. was led by Shannon Hurley (14 kills), Leah Bisignani (8 kills), and Alexa Kacin (18 digs).
"We've never won a WPIAL title," Greensburg C.C. coach Heather Myers said. "We're one win away from reaching that goal. It was a total team efffort tonight."
* Bishop Canevin, the No. 3 seed in Class A, advanced to the title game for the second time in three years with a 27-25, 28-26, 25-17 semifinal win against No. 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Katie Oliverio had 20 digs and 16 assists for the Crudaders. Lexie Yoho had 18 kills and 12 digs for OLSH.
"We are the third team from Mars to make it to the WPIAL finals," Planets coach Dan Mountain said. "The boys and girls soccer teams won in the semifinals last night [Wednesday], and now we win tonight [Thursday]. It's great that all three championship matches are at Chartiers Valley."
Mars, the No. 3 seed, earned its first WPIAL title berth with a 25-10, 25-15, 25-17 sweep of No. 7 Ambridge. The Planets were led by Abby Matusik (16 kills) and Melanie Dinderman (25 digs).
Mountain's squad will face top seed and defending champion Hopewell in the title match, Saturday at 4:15 at Chartiers Valley. The Planets girls soccer team will face Moon in the WPIAL final at 4:30 p.m., while the boys team faces Quaker Valley in a 6:45 p.m. title match.
* Hopewell earned its eighth title berth in 11 years with a 3-1 win against Indiana, despite losing the first game 25-21. The Vikings also trailed in the second set, but scored seven of the last ten points to record a 25-23 victory. The last two games were also close, but Hopewell survived with wins of 26-24 and 27-25.
* Mt. Lebanon, the No. 4 seed in Class AAA, earned its third title berth in six years with a 3-0 sweep of top-seed Oakland Catholic, in a semifinal match held at Chartiers Valley High School. Caroline Grattan led the Blue Devils with 22 kills.
"Five members of this team were on last year's team that lost in the semifinals," Blue Devils coach Jeff Schilling said. "The experienced they gained in that match played a big part in our victory."
Oakland Catholic held leads of 14-6 and 24-20 in the first set, but Mt. Lebanon scored eight of the next ten points to pull out a 28-26 victory. The Blue Devils took charge in the next two sets recording 25-22 and 25-17 victories.
* Fox Chapel, the No. 3 seed in Class AAA, earned its first title berth with a 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 24-26, 29-27, 15-13) win against No. 2 North Allegheny. It was the third time the two teams have met this season and Fox Chapel wins the rubber match. The Foxes were led by Riley Herrmann (17 kills), Megan Hollingsworth (15 kills), Sarah Bradley (13 kills), Marcy Meinert (23 digs), and Allyson Hess (42 assists).
* Greensburg C.C., the top seed in Class A, swept No. 4 West Shamokin 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 to earn its third title berth. The Centurions made previous appearance in the finals in 2007 and 2009, but had to settle for a silver medal both times. Greensburg C.C. was led by Shannon Hurley (14 kills), Leah Bisignani (8 kills), and Alexa Kacin (18 digs).
"We've never won a WPIAL title," Greensburg C.C. coach Heather Myers said. "We're one win away from reaching that goal. It was a total team efffort tonight."
* Bishop Canevin, the No. 3 seed in Class A, advanced to the title game for the second time in three years with a 27-25, 28-26, 25-17 semifinal win against No. 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Katie Oliverio had 20 digs and 16 assists for the Crudaders. Lexie Yoho had 18 kills and 12 digs for OLSH.
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