South Hills Record notebook: Baldwin volleyball coach honored

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 11:01 AM

A tip of the cap to Jason Jonas, Baldwin’s first-year girls volleyball coach who was named the Big 56 Coach of the Year in Section 1-4A.

“I think Baldwin’s volleyball program is getting back to its winning ways,” Jonas said. “We had a super young team in a highly competitive section (in 2024). Two of the teams from our section made it to the WPIAL semifinals. We won some games, were competitive at our tournaments and hung close with some of the top teams in the WPIAL.

“We had to create a culture change this year. We had to get our very young varsity team and JV to believe in their new coaching staff, the new direction of the program and in each other and their own skill sets. There were many ups and downs this year and struggles with being such a young, inexperienced varsity team, but I could not be prouder of the girls for how hard they worked, how they dealt with adversity and the progress they made as a team. The girls played incredibly well together, meshed on the court, and we were able to see some glimpses of success for the future.”

Jonas is a Penn State graduate who had previous coaching experience as an assistant at Elizabeth Forward and Seton LaSalle, along with four years at Penn State Greater Allegheny.

He also coaches P3R club volleyball and previously coached with CTS.

“I think we are going to continue to be a competitive team next year,” Jonas said. “We are only losing two seniors even though they are our leaders on and off the court, our captains, and our experienced varsity players. With being (so) young, we relied on sophomores and freshmen to also get some playing time and asked them to contribute to our team when called upon.

“I think the experience our younger girls got this season will really help us going into next year when many of the teams around our section are graduating five to seven seniors. I think we will continue to build upon our success and continue to work on bettering ourselves individually and as a team.”

The starting rotation for the Highlanders in 2024 consisted of senior setter Avery Barrett, senior MH Kaylee Smolko, junior OH Brielle Fisher, junior OH/RS Reese Temme, junior libero Mia Wyse, sophomore MH Hannah Dayoub, along with junior libero Ashley Skowronski, junior OH/RS Allison Lease, junior DS Rhianna Lavelle and sophomore MH/RS Addy Troutman.

Barrett was chosen as a Big 56 second team all-section selection at the setter position following the season.

Jaguars dominate list

As expected, Thomas Jefferson dominated the list of all-conference players following the Class 4A Big 6 football season.

Brayden White, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior wideout, was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year in the conference. Against WPIAL competition, White reeled in a team-leading 59 receptions for 1,118 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Joining White on the first team were junior center Zane Sable, junior guard Dom Metz, senior tackle Shep Turk, senior tight end Kooper Kamberis, senior quarterback Luke Kosko and sophomore running back Tyler Eber.

Eber was lauded as the Trib HSSN football player of the week following the Jaguars’ 34-31 win against McKeesport in Week 2. Eber rushed for 186 yards and three scores on 39 carries against the Tigers.

TJ’s first-team all-conference players on defense included Turk on the line, White in the secondary and Matt Martinis, a senior linebacker.

Two TJ sophomores earned second-team status on offense: Beckett Everley at tackle and Kane Eggerton at wide receiver.

Turk is the 4A finalist for the Bill Fralic Memorial Award, which is awarded annually to the best two-way senior lineman in the WPIAL.

Receiving second-team nods on defense were sophomore lineman Luccas Patterson and junior linebacker Zach Villa.

TJ won the conference crown with a 5-0 record and the WPIAL Class 4A title with a 13-0 mark. The Jaguars defeated Belle Vernon, Trinity, Ringgold (via forfeit), Chartiers Valley and Laurel Highlands by a 168-35 overall margin in conference play.

Bar set high

Thomas Jefferson’s all-time leading scorer in basketball is Evan Berger, a 2024 graduate who currently is a freshman on the Edinboro men’s basketball team.

A four-year starter at TJ, Berger racked up 1,610 career points including 234 as a freshman, 442 as a sophomore, 463 as a junior and 471 last season.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to break that record, so I’m happy I finally did break it,” Berger said. “It’s cool and all, but I just got to move past it and look to continue to get better.”

Berger passed 1989 TJ graduate Karri Miller Lockhart when he netted his 1,358th point Dec. 12 late in the game in a 72-60 section victory at Bethel Park.

Berger needed 21 points going into the game to tie Miller Lockhart’s 1,357 career point total. With less than a minute remaining, Berger hit a free throw that gave him his record-breaking 1,358th point.

A 6-4 guard/forward, Berger averaged 23.1 ppg in 2023-24 and broke his own school record with a 43-point performance in a 105-100 section win in three overtimes against Peters Township.

College commitments

Seven senior athletes at Baldwin signed letters of intent Nov. 13 to continue their athletic careers at the next level.

The seven that signed are Ramil Islamov: West Virginia (wrestling), Gabriella Jaquay: Seton Hill (softball), Kaylee Smolko: Pitt-Johnstown (softball), Avery Barrett: Pitt-Johnstown (volleyball), Rebecca Knight: Mansfield (basketball), Aliza Very: Mount Union (lacrosse) and Alexa Sherman: Chatham (lacrosse).

All-star picks

Thomas Jefferson seniors Jake Shoemaker and Brayden Miller were selected to play for Class 3A at the recent Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association boys all-star event at Pine-Richland. Shoemaker was a forward at TJ; Miller played in the midfield.

All-section selection

In girls soccer, Baldwin senior Mary Vargo was a Big 56 second-team selection at an at-large position in Section 2.

Vargo was a forward/midfielder for the Highlanders and a returning starter on the Baldwin girls basketball team this season.

Fun fact

Did you know that Brentwood boys basketball coach Dan Thayer is a teacher in the business and computer department at Baldwin?

All-star honors

Thomas Jefferson’s Brayden Miller was named as a Trib HSSN boys soccer all-star for 2024.

Miller, a senior midfielder, was an All-WPIAL and all-state pick this season. He knocked in 26 goals during the regular season and helped the Jaguars reach the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals.

Tags: Baldwin, Brentwood, Thomas Jefferson