Hampton girls volleyball aims to compete with elite teams in WPIAL Class AAA

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 6, 2018 | 11:48 PM

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Matt Robertson has his smallest group of seniors in his six years leading Hampton volleyball. But the team has one big advantage that makes it a WPIAL Class AAA contender again.

Middle hitter Anastasia Russ, a Pitt commit, is as talented a volleyball player as the Talbots have seen come through the program in quite some time. The senior middle blocker, listed at 6-foot-5, would like to end her career how it began her sophomore year: with a run to the WPIAL title game.

Though this time, she would like to finish the job.

“That’s definitely a huge goal for us this year,” said Russ, who recently was ranked No. 57 in Prep Volleyball’s “Top 100 Seniors in the Country” list.

“That’s what we’ve been working on in practice. To get better to compete with those teams.”

Those teams in Section 4 will be difficult to jump over. Knoch wrapped up a banner season by winning the WPIAL and PIAA championship last year. Central Valley spent most of last year at No. 2, and brings back the majority of its team.

Hampton, which finished 8-4 in section last season, suffered all four losses between the two.

“I really like our team this year,” Robertson said. “From the previous years that we’ve realigned it’s been a battle. Us, Central Valley, Knoch and Mars. Every game is one of the best games you’ll see in the WPIAL. Rivalries, if that’s what you want to call it. It’s top-notch volleyball.”

Russ is the only starter left from the 2016 team that advanced to the WPIAL finals after years of futility in its former section.

This year, Robertson is hoping the combination of Russ with setter Nikita Corbelli, who was third-team all-section last year, can get the team back.

“She’s one of the best setters we’ve had,” Robertson said of Corbelli, who has been working with Russ in private lessons to establish better chemistry.

“Their connection, being able to make plays happen on the fly is just something we haven’t seen at Hampton. Sometimes, the assistant coach and I just look at each other and say, ‘How would they be on the same page on that play?’ ”

He’s hoping the rest of the team can step up and make plays. Hampton features seasoned veterans in seniors Melinda Maers and Megan Collins, who both saw time last year. But replacing outside hitters and team captains Kira Diehm and Maddie Ware was no easy task.

However, Robertson called his small senior leadership contingent “amazing,” and thinks juniors Maggie Laffin and Gillian Mulcahy can step in.

“Those two girls have played amazing,” he said. “They filled in right away offensively and defensively. We’re very deep in the hitting category this year. All our players are capable of passing and hitting, so that just adds to the athleticism.”

Juniors Katie Januck and Claire Braun, the latter of whom is nursing an ankle injury but is expected back soon, round out a boisterous group of juniors who aren’t afraid to lead vocally on the court — something Robertson would like to see more of.

“I know we have a couple of loud juniors this year, so I think in terms of energy we could see a different team this year, which excites me,” he said.

Russ agreed: “I think it’s really going to help our team. Especially if we’re down a couple points, we can count on certain players to bring that energy back up and help us get the next point.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hampton