2023 PIAA Class 4A girls volleyball championship preview: Unionville vs. North Allegheny

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, November 17, 2023 | 5:42 PM

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PIAA Class 4A girls volleyball championship

Unionville (25-0) vs. North Allegheny (19-1)

6 p.m. Saturday at Cumberland Valley

On the air: Streaming on PCN Select; audio on Trib HSSN

Seeds: Unionville 1-1, North Allegheny 7-1

How they got here: Unionville defeated Ephrata, 3-0; Spring-Ford, 3-0; and Parkland, 3-2. North Allegheny beat McDowell, 3-0; Dallastown, 3-1; and Landisville Hempfield, 3-2.

Coaches: Stephanie Smith, Unionville; Russ Hoburg, North Allegheny

Players to watch: Olivia Harper, Unionville; Jamie Frisco, North Allegheny

PIAA titles: Unionville 0; North Allegheny 9 (1992, ‘93, ‘94, 2017, ‘18, ‘19, ‘20, ‘21, ‘22)

Notable: North Allegheny beat Unionville, 3-0, for the PIAA title in 2020. It was Unionville’s only state championship appearance until this season. Unionville rallied down 2-1 to win 25-20, 24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11 over Parkland in the state semifinals. Setter Olivia Harper and outside hitter Brianna Miller, who were all-state selections last season, led the way. Miller had 19 kills, and Lea Wiswall had 16, while Harper had 55 assists. … North Allegheny won a sixth straight PIAA title with a 3-1 victory over Garnet Valley last season. The nine-time champion Tigers also won three straight titles from 1992-94 and lost in the finals in 1984 and 2008. North Allegheny had six players selected to the All-WPIAL team this season — senior libero Avery Butcher, senior outside hitters Marin Dunaway and Kyra Schmidt and senior right-side hitter Jamie Frisco on the first team; freshman setter/right-side hitter Molly Robertson on the second team; and junior setter Mackenzie Jones on the third team. Frisco and Dunaway lead the team with more than 200 kills apiece.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny