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 sports editor of the Tribune-Review. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@triblive.com or via Twitter @BHartlep_Trib.

Tags: North Allegheny