Eden Christian tops Serra Catholic for 1st WPIAL girls volleyball title

By: Adam Brewer
Saturday, November 1, 2025 | 2:17 PM

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Eden Christian Academy was firing on all cylinders late in its match against Section 5 rival Serra Catholic and earned a 3-1 victory Saturday afternoon in the WPIAL Class A championship at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.

The district title is not only the first for the volleyball program, but the very first one for Eden Christian Academy.

“It was a rocky start and we were really tight at the beginning,” Eden coach Jillian Zentko said. “We had to battle through the pressure and understand that we have to play together. We had to focus on us and do the things we do well. Once we got that second set win, we became looser and started to have fun.”

The No. 4 Warriors (17-4) dropped the first set 25-21, but battled back with set wins of 25-19, 25-13 and 25-15.

“It’s an amazing feeling to bring home a championship,” said sophomore hitter Erin Hull, who was dominant on the court with 15 kills and 12 service points. “We have worked so hard and our seniors did such a good job of leading this team. We overcame some early jitters, and we just had to focus on us.”

The Section 5-A foes split in the regular season, as the home team won both meetings.

The Eagles (14-6), who were searching a second title in three years, got off to a dynamic start and looked to be in control, but Eden’s consistent hitting was too hard to contain for the remainder of the match.

“They had a couple of their hitters that got rolling and we couldn’t stop them,” Serra coach Keith Trahan said. “They are tough to defend. I was happy after that first set, but I knew Eden would bounce back and come out swinging. They are a well-coached group, and the title is well-deserved.”

Despite the finals loss, Trahan is still proud of the overall effort to get back to the title contest.

“The moment wasn’t too big for us,” Trahan said. “It’s been a roller-coaster season, and we have played in so many tight, five-set games. These girls know how to stay positive and battle through the emotions of volleyball. We are way ahead of schedule and we are growing. We don’t have a ton of seniors, so our underclassmen will carry us next season.”

Serra jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set, as Niki Sfanos tallied the opening point with a kill.

After an Eden timeout, the Eagles continued to maintain their level of play at the net. Ryleigh Carper got hot from the front line, while the Warriors were committing some hitting errors. Carper had a monster game for Serra with 16 kills and eight blocks.

Eden faced a 15-9 deficit, but turned things around and knotted things up at 17-17. Serra responded by scoring three of the next four points, with the final two points coming off a kill by Sfanos and a block by Argyro Mallas.

The Eagles compiled four of the final five points to take the opening set, as Carper registered three late kills in the spree to push Serra to the 25-21 win.

“We have had some dominant hitters at Serra over the years,” Trahan said. “But Ryleigh is slowly climbing that list and she is only a sophomore. She has such a strong grasp of the game of volleyball and is just a strong hitter when she gets going. She has such a high ceiling for us.”

Just like the first set, Serra got off to a good start in the second set and forced Eden to call a timeout when up 9-3. Carper continued to bang kills, while Kalissa Jacomen and Madonna Kovel got into the strong hitting for the Eagles.

The Warriors bounced back with a 7-1 run that was fueled by some heavy hits by Ava Arnold and Addi Mathieu, as well as back-to-back aces from Ainsley Chevalier.

After the teams were deadlocked at 17-17, Eden pushed through and put together an 8-2 spree to even things up at 1-1. Hull, Arnold and Mathieu picked up some kills near the second half of the second set.

“We throw a lot of hitters and rotations at teams,” Zentko said. “We have that versatility up front, and it keeps the defense guessing. Playing Serra for the third time this season, we knew that they knew us. But we didn’t change too much and we knew we had to out-hit them today.”

In the third set, the Warriors started to take advantage of some hitting errors by the Eagles, while maintaining their steady play at the net. Eden scored four of the first five points in the set and then their lead ballooned to 9-4 after a kill by Arnold.

“We struggled in the opening set,” Arnold said. “We had to calm down and play Eden volleyball. All of our hitters are important to the offense and we are able to get a lot of one-on-ones at the net. It means a lot to get this title and to be the first to do so for Eden.”

Serra got it as close as 11-7 before Eden extended its lead with a 9-3 spurt. The Warriors continued to roll and decisively took the third set by 12 points.

The Eagles got off to a good start in the fourth and carried a 6-3 edge before the Warriors countered with three consecutive points by way of two kills from Arnold and another by Mathieu.

Eden broke away from a 7-7 tie with a 7-2 spurt that forced a Serra timeout. After the timeout, the Warriors remained the aggressors and built a 19-10 lead that resulted in another Eagles’ timeout.

Hull poured in some hard kills in the next couple of volleys and the Warriors were able to sustain some pressure from the Eagles before closing out the final with an emphatic 10-point triumph.

“We spread the ball around on offense and everyone is such a good option at the net,” Hull said. “We definitely got more comfortable as the game went along. Our back row was spot on today, and I thought our passing was the difference maker. We had to win the mental game today.”

Both teams will start their PIAA playoffs journey in the first round, as Eden faces District 9 runner-up Clarion and Serra battles District 10 champion Maplewood on Tuesday.

Tags: Eden Christian, Serra Catholic