Fox Chapel boys volleyball determined to make run at playoff spot

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, April 19, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Fox Chapel boys volleyball coach Phil O’Keeffe was on board with the WPIAL volleyball steering committee’s decision to make it more challenging to qualify for the postseason. That’s all well and good when the lineup is relatively healthy.

But the Foxes had more than a dozen players out with the flu, which severely impacted the first few weeks of their season. That’s why Fox Chapel’s rallying to beat Gateway, 3-2, during its first section win April 15 was a big deal.

The Foxes (1-5, 1-2) desperately needed to find a way to win section matches if they wanted to find a way to the Class 3A playoffs.

“It means you have to earn your way to the playoffs,” O’Keeffe said. “If we had lost this one, it would have been difficult. We would have had to find a way to beat North Hills, and I’m not sure what will happen against Penn Hills.”Fox Chapel middle hitter Ethan Filter said the Foxes were determined to get back on track. Fox Chapel couldn’t develop chemistry with many of the team’s key players missing.

“It was rough,” Filter said. “We had like 14 guys out with the flu. When we got back into practice, we worked hard.”

O’Keeffe said the Foxes are nearly back to 100%. One freshman middle blocker is out with a concussion.

Fox Chapel has been trying to be more effective by rotating through different systems. However, the Foxes lack the size to overpower their opponents.

“We’ve been going through a number of different lineups with a 6-2 and 5-1,” O’Keeffe said. “I’ve been trying to tell them to keep it simple. It’s not that complicated of a game. We’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit, making most of the errors.”

Against the Gators (4-2, 2-2), Fox Chapel had to worry about slowing down Darious Fararr. He is Gateway’s top hitter, putting down more than 15 kills against Fox Chapel.

The Gators won the first set 25-19. Fox Chapel bounced back by winning the next two sets.

“We figured out their hitting,” Filter said. “They pushed outside and middle, not a lot of right side, and adjusted our blocking. We did really good blocking today.”

The Foxes struggled to pass in the fourth set, and Gateway evened the match. But to open the fifth set, Fox Chapel had an impressive surge.

The Foxes opened with a 9-2 run. While Fox Chapel lost five consecutive match points, the Foxes’ early run gave them such a cushion that they were able to take the final set 15-10 to pick up a much-needed win.

Filter was happy with the progress Fox Chapel made.

“Getting the blocks, pass and setter connection, we ran the middle well tonight,” Filter said. “We haven’t done that in the past. If the setter finds our hitters and puts more balls down, we will find more success.”

Tags: Fox Chapel