A-K Valley girls volleyball preview: St. Joseph confident of another deep playoff run

By: Michael Love
Sunday, August 24, 2025 | 7:45 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

It was an all-Alle-Kiski Valley final at the Deer Lakes volleyball tournament Saturday as St. Joseph, for the second year in a row, topped the host Lancers for the championship.

Spartans coach Ann McCarthy was pleased with her team’s performance to kick off the season, one that she and her players hope matches — or exceeds — last year’s run to an outright Section 1-A championship and a spot in the WPIAL semifinals.

Returning All-WPIAL setter and middle hitter Kate Giannetta, a senior and one of five returning starters along with juniors Emma Yingling (setter), Jillian Bloch (libero), Kenzie Jones (outside hitter), and Miley Norris (middle hitter), feels this year’s group can continue to make waves.

“We’re all really excited about the season and the work we’re doing to defend our section championship,” said Giannetta, who has been in conversation with several Division II colleges. “We’re also hopeful we can be in position to go after a WPIAL title. Last season was amazing and a big first step, but we have new goals and expectations. We’re just hoping to make a bigger impact than last year.”

McCarthy said Aquinas and Apollo-Ridge will be top contenders in the fight for the section title. The Spartans also will battle in what McCarthy deems a competitive section against Riverview, Leechburg, and Springdale.

“We had such a great turnout in the summer with summer leagues and open gyms,” said McCarthy, whose team visits Serra Catholic on Tuesday. “We also started a program where we partnered with Oakland Catholic for conditioning and also sand volleyball. This season for them started a long time ago in the offseason. They got a taste of success, and now they want more.”

Success last year for six A-K Valley teams — St. Joseph, Freeport, Kiski Area, Fox Chapel, Burrell, and Apollo-Ridge — came in the form of trips to the WPIAL playoffs.

Freeport, for the first time in two decades, didn’t capture a section title. The Yellowjackets finished tied for second in Section 2 of Class 3A with Hampton at 7-3, three games behind eventual WPIAL champion Mars.

Veteran Freeport coach Tom Phillips said the goals for his team — a section title and a long run to the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs — have not changed.

Hoping to make those goals a reality is a group of seven returning starters led by all-section selections Jayme Radvan (junior, outside hitter), Jaisa Gaillot (senior, setter) and Peyton Cene (senior, libero) and includes senior middle hitter Payton Woods and sophomores Emily Boylan (outside hitter), Caylee Zembrzuski (setter) and Evie Tola (outside hitter).

“We were very active even before double sessions started (Aug. 11),” said Phillips who saw his team play in two summer leagues, attend a camp at Penn State and get in shape through crossfit workouts. “I like this team a lot. We have 11 freshmen, and they’re coming off an undefeated middle school season.

“They are a very talented group. We have a nice mix of senior leaders on down. They have all bought in, and they want to get back to where we’re used to being.”

Section play in the WPIAL is slated to begin Sept. 2 and run through Oct. 16. The top four teams in sections of seven or more teams, the top three in sections of six or fewer teams, and ties that can’t be broken in each section will enter the WPIAL playoffs.

Kiski Area and Fox Chapel tied for fourth (5-5) in Section 4-4A last year. The Cavaliers, who enter the season under first-year coach Steve Cunha, return four starters: senior all-section players Makayla Kiebler (middle hitter), Lila Welshans (opposite) and Gianna DeVito (outside hitter), along with junior libero Kinsey Miles.

“We’re going to rely heavily on our six seniors,” Cunha said. “We are deep at all three hitting spots, so one of the keys for us will be consistently making a good first pass out of the back row. The second key is consistency from the service line. If we can do this, we will be competitive.”

Kiski Area will step outside to the grass court at Kennedy Park in Vandergrift Sept. 2 and host Norwin for the annual Pack the Park early-season celebration.

Fox Chapel returns just one starter from last year: senior middle hitter Emma DiRocco. Diane Andreyko, who enters her ninth year as the Foxes coach, said this year’s team will be young but full of potential as a number of girls have battled for spots in the rotation.

Burrell finished runner-up (7-3) in Section 5-2A to Southmoreland (10-0) last year and made it to the WPIAL quarterfinals.

The Bucs are led by junior setter/outside hitter Delaney Ploskunak, who wrapped up a standout sophomore season with All-WPIAL Class 2A third-team recognition.

She dished out 19 assists and made four kills in No. 10 Burrell’s WPIAL first-round sweep over No. 7 South Allegheny.

Apollo-Ridge gave St. Joseph a run for its money in Section 1-1A last year. The Vikings tied Aquinas Academy for second (7-3) in the section and gave No. 6 Beaver County Christian all it could handle in a 3-2 loss in the WPIAL first round.

Six starters return, led by section all-stars in senior Sarah Niel (outside hitter), sophomore Mikaila Ditty (middle hitter) and junior Miranda Gartley (setter).

Senior outside hitter Josalin McCauley is back after working through an injury last year.

Eve Hebrank begins her 10th season at Leechburg hoping to lead the Blue Devils back to the WPIAL playoffs in Class A after missing the postseason last fall.

Senior all-section setter/right side hitter Addie Zanotto leads a core of five returning starters, including senior outside hitter Hayven Lookabaugh, junior middle hitter Elsa Zalenski, sophomore outside hitter Giuliana Granata and sophomore setter/right side hitter Abigail Rollinger.

“We have a lot of hungry players looking to earn a starting spot in the lineup,” Hebrank said.

Springdale (3-11, 3-7 Section 1-A) graduated no seniors from last year and has seven returning starters led by section all-stars in senior outside hitter Cambra Fersch, junior middle hitter Jocelyn Dexter and sophomore outside hitter Emma Radovich.

Riverview second-year coach Jen Trosch hopes her youthful squad with eight returning starters can make a run to the playoffs in Section 1-A. Junior outside hitters Alyiah McDade and Pennie Stotler were selected section all-stars last year.

Maggie Steimer, a middle hitter, is the only senior among the group of returning starters.

After a four-year run that included consecutive WPIAL playoff appearances and two section titles, Plum (7-8, 3-7 Section 3-4A) fell short last year in its goal of reaching the postseason. But coach Rachel Satira, with five returning starters, hopes the Mustangs can make a strong run in section play.

Senior setter/outside hitter Mackenzie Marotta and senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Mia Waitt were voted section all-stars in 2024.

Section 5-2A all-stars Laney Dineff (senior, setter), Maria Hannoune (junior, middle hitter) and Maddie Thimmons (senior, outside hitter) are back for Deer Lakes, which hopes to improve on last year’s 6-10 overall record and 3-7 mark (fifth place) in section play.

Knoch (8-8, 4-6), Highlands (6-11, 2-8) and Valley (1-15, 0-10) hope to take steps forward in and out of Section 2-3A.

Diane Geist enters her 40th year as coach of the Knights, and she has three starters back: seniors Alena Tekely (setter) and Allison Godot (outside hitter) and junior Laney Snyder (middle hitter).

Highlands coach Michelle Dickerson is confident her team is set for a breakout season with six starters back led by section all-stars in seniors Addison Arms (middle hitter), Abby Lemmon (setter) and Lyla Vivirito (outside hitter).

Matt Magnusen begins his second year at Valley with optimism with eight returning starters.

Sophomore middle/right side hitter Savannah Pearson was an all-section pick last year as the Vikings moved up from Class 2A.

“We are hoping to be more competitive in an extremely tough (Class 3A) section,” Magnusen said.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph