No changes in final WPIAL Boys Volleyball Coaches Association top-10 polls

By: Michael Love
Monday, May 9, 2022 | 12:12 PM

Purchase Photo Options

WPIAL boys volleyball section play concludes Thursday evening, and the playoff brackets and pairings are scheduled to be released Friday.

Several playoff spots, section titles and playoff positioning will be determined over the next four nights.

With that, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final spring 2022 Class 3A and 2A rankings Monday morning, and every team — including No. 1 North Allegheny in Class 3A and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Class 2A) — maintained their spots in the top-10 polls from last week.

North Allegheny (10-0) and No. 2 Seneca Valley (9-1) will meet Tuesday at Seneca Valley to decide the Section 2 title. The Tigers, who have clinched at least a tie for the title, won the first meeting between the teams, 3-0, on April 22.

Shaler, 6-4 (third place) in Section 2, remains at No. 4 in the Class 3A poll.

No. 3 Hempfield and No. 5 Norwin enter the week tied in Section 3 at 9-1.

Hempfield faces Armstrong on Tuesday and Latrobe on Thursday, while Norwin takes on Penn Hills Tuesday and No. 6 Penn-Trafford on Thursday.

Penn-Trafford is third in Section 3 at 7-3, one game in front of No. 10 Latrobe (6-4).

Canon-McMillan, No. 7 in this week’s poll, leads Section 1 at 9-1, a half-game ahead of No. 8 Upper St. Clair (9-2). The Big Macs face Bethel Park on Tuesday and Peters Township on Wednesday, while the Panthers finish section play Thursday at Moon.

Butler, No. 9 in Class 3A, is a playoff qualifier out of Section 2.

Section 1 in Class 2A has dominated the top of the rankings throughout the season.

OLSH, which leads the section at 8-1, wraps up its section slate Tuesday at No. 9 Hopewell (3-6).

Also, on Tuesday, No. 2 North Catholic (7-2), which split with OLSH in their section series, concludes section play Tuesday at No. 3 Montour (5-4). The Trojans edged the Spartans, 3-2, in the first meeting April 19.

Ambridge, 4-5 in Section 1, is No. 5 in this week’s Class 2A poll.

No. 4 Seton LaSalle continues to crash the Section 1 rankings party. The Rebels (9-0) have clinched the Section 3 title, while No. 7 Trinity (6-2) and No. 8 Thomas Jefferson (5-3) battle for second place. The teams meet Tuesday at Thomas Jefferson.

Gateway, No. 6 in the Class 2A rankings, has clinched the Section 2 title. The Gators (7-0) close out section play Tuesday at rival Plum (5-2).

Derry, a playoff qualifier from Section 2, is No. 10 this week.

The top four teams and ties in each Class 3A and Class 2A section qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

Each week throughout the season, all of the WPIAL coaches had the opportunity to vote for the teams in the top-10 rankings.

The classification players of the week are selected by the coaches association based on coaches nominations.

Western PA Volleyball Coach Association

Top-10 Rankings – Week 7 (Final)

Class 3A

1. North Allegheny (last week: 1)

2. Seneca Valley (2)

3. Hempfield (3)

4. Shaler (4)

5. Norwin (5)

6. Penn-Trafford (6)

7. Canon-McMillan (7

8. Upper St. Clair (8)

9. Butler (9)

10. Latrobe (10)

Class 3A Players of the Week

Tyler Hussey, senior, outside hitter, Norwin

Patrick Schall, senior, outside hitter, Penn-Trafford

Owen Kelley, junior, outside hitter, Hempfield

Dante Palombo, sophomore, middle hitter, Shaler

Class 2A

1. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (last week: 1)

2. North Catholic (2)

3. Montour (3)

4. Seton LaSalle (4)

5. Ambridge (5)

6. Gateway (6)

7. Trinity (7)

8. Thomas Jefferson (8)

9. Hopewell (9)

10. Derry (10)

Class 2A Players of the Week

Jeremy Ciaramella, senior, setter, OLSH

Micah Guevara, senior, setter/right side, Beaver County Christian

Bryce Lizanich, junior, middle hitter, Montour

Will Stewart, sophomore, outside hitter, Thomas Jefferson

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Ambridge, Beaver County Christian, Butler, Canon-McMillan, Derry Area, Gateway, Hempfield, Hopewell, Latrobe, Montour, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Norwin, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn-Trafford, Seneca Valley, Seton La Salle, Shaler, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, Upper St. Clair