Inaugural We Serve First all-star event is ‘celebration of volleyball’
By:
Thursday, December 8, 2022 | 7:11 PM
You can’t fault Sydney Joyce if she gets a little emotional or is overcome with nostalgia when she takes the court Friday and Saturday as part of the inaugural We Serve First All-Star Classic girls volleyball event at Kiski Area High School.
“This is very exciting, especially since it is the first one,” said Joyce, who will share the all-star stage with Cavaliers classmates Madalyn Polka, Brynn Bires and Laci Safranyos and 32 other seniors from 17 schools throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley and surrounding communities.
“To have it be at a gym where we’ve made so many great memories, I am really looking forward to it. There is some amazing talent that I have seen but never played with or against and also some who I’ve played with and against in club or in section and nonsection matches and high school tournaments. We’re all seniors, and we get to enjoy this last big event with everyone. I think it really is a celebration of volleyball in the area.”
In addition to the players from Kiski Area, seniors were selected from Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Hampton, Highlands, Knoch, Leechburg, Mars, Plum, Riverview, Springdale and Valley.
“All of these kids have faced each other in matches and at tournament for so many years, and now they all will be together in one gym,” said Tim Toy, executive director of the We Serve First Foundation.
“They will get to put aside school district lines. What I am going to really be paying attention to is how these kids respond to that circumstance, how they do with interacting with one another and with their new coaches. That will be so interesting.”
Earlier this week, two all-star participants — Freeport setter Cassidy Dell and Mars middle hitter Lauren Atwell — received all-state recognition from the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association.
Dell and her Yellowjackets teammates, including fellow senior all-stars Ava Soilis and Hadley Hellgren, represented the A-K Valley throughout the PIAA playoffs and brought home the program’s second state championship Nov. 19 with a 3-0 win over District 3 champion York Catholic.
Toy said three of the seniors originally selected, St. Joseph setter Gabby Mason, St. Joseph libero Cassidy Safran and Mars libero Anna Pietrusinksi, will be unable to take part in the all-star event for personal reasons.
Added to the lineup were Safranyos, Armstrong setter Lily Atwood and Plum libero Maya Nonnenberg.
Toy said he hopes several college coaches who were extended invitations to the event will be able to attend and get the chance to observe talent who have not already committed to a school.
The format for the all-star event is a four-team round robin tournament, and the teams will be headed up by Freeport’s Tom Phillips, Butler’s Megan Lucas, Franklin Regional’s Rachel Carter and Leechburg’s Eve Hebrank.
The festivities begin Friday with a practice session at 6 p.m. headed up by Hampton coach Dakota Fickes and Kiski Area assistant Robin Joyce. After a break, the coaches, who will observe the practice, will gather to draft their teams.
“It should be very interesting in the draft room,” Toy said.
Doors on Saturday open at 3 p.m. with introductions and other pre-event announcements at 3:30.
Games will begin at approximately 4. Each team will play a pair of game to 15 against the other three teams, and the results will be used to fill in the brackets towards determining a champion.
The playoff semifinals will be one game to 25 with the finals a best of three.
Awards will be presented for the best defensive player, best setter, best hitter and MVP, along with a teammate award voted on by the players.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and youth age five and under are free.
Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 724-493-5945.
Proceeds from the event will go to support the We Serve First Foundation’s mission to “seek out young athletes with financial burdens, regardless of their age or skill level, and help them find a love for competition in a team sport.”
“We have the two all-state players, and almost everybody in it has received an all-section or All-WPIAL nod of some sort,” Toy said. “It is going to be good, quality volleyball. I am so amped and excited to bring it to life. We are also excited to learn from this first event and work to make it even better going forward for years to come.”
We Serve First All-Star Classic
Senior Participants
Cassidy Adams, Outside Hitter, Armstrong
Lauren Atwell, Middle Hitter, Mars
Lily Atwood, Setter, Armstrong
Avery Bain, Outside Hitter, Burrell
Taylor Barr, Setter, Burrell
Brynn Bires, Middle Hitter, Kiski Area
Emily Bologna, Outside Hitter, Plum
Bella Burrell, Setter, Springdale
Anna Cibik, Libero, Leechburg
Cassidy Dell, Setter, Freeport
Ella Evans, Middle Hitter, Franklin Regional
Madison Friess, Outside Hitter, Deer Lakes
Alyssa Gallagher, Outside Hitter, Knoch
Addison Gindlesperger, Middle Hitter, Hampton
Hadley Hellgren, Middle Hitter, Freeport
Eve Johnson, Outside Hitter, Highlands
Sydney Joyce, Setter, Kiski Area
Melissa Karastury, Setter, Knoch
Macy Kubla, Outside Hitter, Leechburg
Jillian Lewandowski, Right Side Hitter, Valley
Madeline Mastalerz, Middle Hitter, Leechburg
Madison Nguyen, Setter, Franklin Regional
Maya Nonnenberg, Libero, Plum
Maya Obendorfer, Defensive Specialist, Hampton
Madalyn Polka, Defensive Specialist, Kiski Area
Janiya Potts, Defensive Specialist, Valley
Carli Ramchandran, Defensive Specialist, Franklin Regional
Kate Remaley, Middle Hitter, Armstrong
Laci Safranyos, Defensive Specialist, Kiski Area
Ava Soilis, Libero, Freeport
Kelsey Sprouse, Outside Hitter, Springdale
Jessica Sullivan, Setter, Deer Lakes
Dannika Susko, Middle Hitter, Plum
Brinley Toland, Outside Hitter, Apollo-Ridge
Ava Whitlinger, Outside Hitter, Apollo-Ridge
Megan Yanief, Outside Hitter, Mars
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.
More High School Sports
• High school sports scores, schedule for Dec. 22, 2024• High school roundup for Dec. 22, 2024: No. 2 Montour rolls past Lincoln Park
• Fox Chapel withstands Kiski Area’s rally at PPG Paints Arena
• Westmoreland high school notebook: Mt. Pleasant quartet sets national swimming record
• High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 21, 2024