Expectations high for Gateway boys volleyball team following section title

By: Michael Love
Sunday, April 2, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The Gateway boys volleyball team accomplished big things last spring with the program’s first section title since 1986 and also getting to within an eyelash of making the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.

The Gators led 10-time WPIAL champion Ambridge 2-1 in their quarterfinal contest at North Allegheny. But the Bridgers pulled out a 26-24 win in set four and closed out the match in the fifth and deciding set.

It was a sudden end to a strong 2022 season.

But all of the success spilled over to the offseason, and the returning players — led by this year’s team captains in juniors Jace Beam (setter) and Ryan Hoffner (hitter) and senior Noah Passalinqua (outside hitter), as well as fellow returning starter in junior defensive specialist Keagan Kyper — are hoping to take advantage of the momentum.

“I am super excited about our squad and its potential,” Gateway coach Phil Randolph said.

“Without a doubt, we graduated some incredible on-and-off-the-court leaders from last year, but we also returned some special athletes who played truly pivotal roles. Moreover, we have seen a handful of other hungry young men grow further into their potential through the offseason work that we did.”

Beam and Passalinqua were second-team all-section picks last year, while Hoffner was a third-team selection.

They, along with several other returning contributors, were tasked with refocusing the team after the loss of five seniors, including first-team all-section players Ryan Bozicevic, Aiden Colberg, Chris Lewis and Will Kromka.

“I think we’re in a really good spot early in the season,” Passalinqua said.

“We’re definitely going to have to improve a little bit to get to where we want to be, and I think that is the case for all the teams in our section. But coming off the section win last year, it really picked up the excitement around the team, and we have a lot of motivation to keep it going.”

Gateway kicked off its season with a 3-0 sweep of Summit Academy on March 21.

The Gators then challenged the competition March 25 at the Norwin Tournament.

They finished in 13th place.

Gateway placed fourth in its division in the first round of pool play and were eliminated from advancing to the bracketed playoffs.

But the Gators responded by winning their second-round pool division.

“The biggest thing from the tournament was that our play at times, especially in the first round of pool play, didn’t align with what we had seen in the gym previously,” Randolph said.

“We had a slow start, but as the day went on, our play got better. Had we played in the morning the way we played in the afternoon, I think it would’ve been a much different result.”

Two days later, Gateway took care of business against Penn Hills for a 3-0 nonsection win.

“Our better play in the second half on Saturday really carried over to Penn Hills,” Hoffner said.

“We all brought the energy and really played well. We were consistent throughout the match and were able to clean up.”

Gateway improved to 3-0 overall with a sweep of Mt. Lebanon on March 29. The Gators dominated the first set 25-10, edged the Blue Devils, 25-21, in set two and finished off the win 25-14 in set three.

Passalinqua finished the match with 10 kills, while Ryan Hoffner added seven.

“Overall, we had a nice night against an eager and determined Mt. Lebanon squad,” Randolph said.

“As the night went on, we were able to shuffle through our roster and test our depth. As a coach, it’s certainly nice to know that you have legitimate options and wiggle room in your lineups, and it’s always healthy to know there is another guy who is itching to take your spot if you’re currently in a position where you’ve earned yourself some real estate on the court.

“It also was exciting to see us pick up the speed of our offense. That was something that was only possible because of the tough defense of our unsung heroes in the back row: Kyper, Chase Anthony, Andrew Williams and Owen Echegaray. We also noted some continued areas of focus to work out the kinks on serve-receive and hands-up net play. We’ll be working on those things more in practice.”

Randolph said defending the section title won’t be easy. The landscape has changed in Section 2-2A. Derry, Deer Lakes and Mars remain, and Latrobe and Armstrong moved down from 3A.

Latrobe, a playoff qualifier as the No. 4 team from Section 3-3A last year, was the top team in the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class 2A rankings released March 27.

Mars was fifth and Derry was seventh.

“We’re happy to be sitting at 3-0 so far,” Randolph said after the Mt. Lebanon win.

“But we know that this section will be a dog fight through mid-May, and we know that we have a lot more respect to earn before we take our foot off the gas.”

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.

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