What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Oct. 17, 2024: Playoff spots up for grabs on last day of volleyball season

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 | 7:40 PM

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The final night of the WPIAL girls volleyball regular season brings a lot of intrigue with multiple matches set to determine district playoff berths.

• One playoff spot is up for grabs in Class 4A. In Section 4, Kiski Area (4-5) hosts Fox Chapel (5-4). The Foxes have clinched and the Cavaliers would also advance with a victory since the two would have split head-to-head.

• In Class 2A, the winner of Keystone Oaks (7-6) at Carlynton (6-7) clinches a playoff berth in Section 2. Even though they would be tied for fourth place if Carlynton wins, Keystone Oaks would be out based on an 0-2 record against the Cougars.

• In Section 3-2A, Brownsville, Bentworth and Chartiers-Houston are tied for fourth place with 5-8 records. On Thursday, Chartiers-Houston is at Brownsville and Bentworth is home to Burgettstown (4-9). The winner of the Buccaneers at Falcons match clinches. If the Bearcats win, they will also clinch since they split with both Chartiers-Houston and Brownsville.

• In Section 4-2A, Mohawk and Shenango are tied for fourth place with 5-6 records. Mohawk is home to Neshannock (10-1) while Shenango visits Ellwood City (8-3). If the Warriors and Wildcats both win, they both qualify since they split against each other. If they both lose, that opens the door for Riverside (4-7) to win at Laurel (7-4) and tie Mohawk and Shenango for fourth place. In the case of a three-way tie, Mohawk would qualify since it is 3-1 in head-to-head against the other two tied teams.

• In Section 5-2A, Yough and Ligonier Valley are tied for third place with 4-5 records. On Thursday, Yough is at Neighborhood Academy (0-9) while Ligonier Valley is home to Deer Lakes (3-6). If they both win, they both qualify for the postseason. If they both lose and it’s a three-way tie with Deer Lakes, all three teams would clinch.

• In Section 2-A, Western Beaver and Rochester are tied for third place with 4-5 records. On Thursday, Western Beaver is at South Side (3-6) while Rochester is home to Cornell (0-9). If they both win, Western Beaver would qualify and Rochester would be out based on head-to-head tiebreaker. If they both lose, that would force a three-way tie between Western Beaver, Rochester and South Side and in that case, all three would qualify for the playoffs based on 2-2 head-to-head records.

City League semifinals

While the District 7 football regular season “stretch run” has two weeks remaining, the District 8 playoff kick off on Thursday.

The first of two City League semifinals will see No. 3 Allderdice (4-4) taking on No. 2 University Prep (3-4) at Cupples Stadium on the South Side of Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.

The teams just met 12 days ago with University Prep blanking Allderdice, 14-0.

The Panthers opened the scoring in the second quarter with a bang thanks to a 49-yard punt return for a touchdown by Zion Hauser. They added on a Daimere Adair to Micah Saunders 4-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to clinch second place in the district.

These teams met in the 2022 City League semifinals with the Dragons knocking off the Panthers, 14-6.

On Friday, two-time defending champion Westinghouse (6-1) will be a heavy favorite against No. 4 Perry (1-5).

When the teams played a month ago, the Bulldogs crushed the Commodores, 68-0. Khalil Mitchell ran for three touchdowns while Khalil Green had a touchdown pass and two scoring runs for Westinghouse.

Postseason on the pitch

While the first round of the 2024 WPIAL soccer playoffs starts Saturday, there are three preliminary round matches slated for Thursday.

The boys soccer postseason brackets have two prelim matches to determine the No. 16 seed in Class 3A and A.

In 3A, Section 3 foes collide when West Mifflin (3-11) visits Belle Vernon (7-9) at 6:30 p.m.

The teams met twice in the regular season and split. The Titans won in September at home, 2-1, while the Leopards won the second match 11 days ago, 2-1.

The winner visits top-seeded Moon on Saturday.

In Class A, it’s a matchup between two teams still searching for their second victory of the season.

Chartiers-Houston (1-15) visits California (1-8) at 8 p.m. to see who will advance to battle No. 1 Bentworth on Saturday.

The Buccaneers’ only win was on Sept. 5 when they blanked visiting California, 4-0.

The Trojans’ lone triumph was in the rematch at home when they beat Char-Houston, 3-1.

Finally in the only girls soccer pigtail contest, Greensburg Central Catholic (5-7) visits California (4-8-1) at 6 p.m.

The Trojans finished in fourth place in Section 2-A while the Centurions needed a forfeit win over Apollo-Ridge on Tuesday to clinch a playoff berth in Section 4-A.

The winner becomes the No. 16 seed and will play top seed Springdale on Tuesday at Freeport.

Tennis titles up for grabs

Two powers in the South Hills will keep a recent tradition going when they collide for district girls team tennis gold Thursday.

In the Class 3A finals, top seed Mt. Lebanon will battle defending champion Bethel Park at noon from the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center at Washington & Jefferson College.

The Blue Devils have knocked off Baldwin (5-0), Pine-Richland (4-1) and Fox Chapel (5-0) to reach the title match.

The Black Hawks have eliminated Thomas Jefferson (4-1), Peters Township (4-1) and No. 2 seed Shady Side Academy (3-2) to make it back to the finals.

Teams from the South Hills have won the 3A championship in four of the past five years with Peters Township in 2019, Upper St. Clair in 2021, Mt. Lebanon in 2022 and Bethel Park last fall.

The 3A consolation match has Fox Chapel facing nearby Shady Side Academy at 3 p.m.

The top two seeds will play for gold in the 2A championship match as No. 1 North Catholic challenges No. 2 Quaker Valley at W&J at 2 p.m.

The Trojans have been perfect in beating Ellwood City (5-0), Winchester Thurston (5-0) and Oakland Catholic (5-0) to reach the title match.

The Quakers’ trek to the finals includes wins over South Park (5-0), Indiana (5-0) and Hampton (4-1).

The 2A consolation match pits Hampton against Oakland Catholic at North Allegheny at 3 p.m.