Girls volleyball wraps up section play in Thursday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 | 10:36 PM

The curtain falls Thursday on section play in WPIAL girls volleyball.

Sixty teams have punched their tickets to the district postseason with only a handful of spots up for grabs on the final day.

Here are the matches that will help round out the final 2018 WPIAL girls volleyball playoff field.

Peters Township (6-7) hosts Canon-McMillan (7-6) in a Section 2-4A match. If the Indians win, they tie the Big Macs for fourth place and both teams will be playoff bound. Canon-McMillan has already clinched.

Ambridge (7-6) and Mars (7-6) are tied for fourth place in Section 4-3A. The Bridgers are at Central Valley (11-2) while the Fightin’ Planets visit Hampton (9-4). If Ambridge and Mars win or if they both lose, they qualify since they split in their head-to-head matches this season.

Carlynton is at Steel Valley in a win-and-in match. The winner claims fourth place in Section 4-AA.

Jefferson-Morgan and Mapletown are tied for fourth place in Section 2-A. If the Rockets win at West Greene, they clinch a playoff spot. The Maples are at Carmichaels and need a win and a Jefferson-Morgan loss to clinch. Jefferson-Morgan beat Mapletown twice this season and win the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Also in Class A, three teams are still alive in Section 4. Vincentian Academy (7-6) is at Eden Christian (6-7). The Royals have already clinched while the Warriors need a win to get into the postseason. Also in the mix from this section is Riverview (6-7). The Raiders need a win over rival Springdale and an Eden victory to also qualify.

Tennis gold

The championship matches are set Thursday as the WPIAL girls team tennis playoffs come to a golden conclusion.

North Allegheny is looking for a sixth straight Class AAA title when the Tigers face Shady Side Academy at Hampton at 3 p.m.

The Tigers upset top-seeded Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals to advance to the title match, where they face an Indians squad they beat 4-1 in last year’s semifinals.

For a second straight year, the Class AA finals pit No. 1 Sewickley Academy against No. 2 Knoch. The match will be at 3 p.m. at North Allegheny.

The Panthers beat the Knights, 4-1, a year ago.

Sewickley Academy is trying to win a sixth Class AA crown in the last 10 years.

A Knoch victory would give the Knights their first WPIAL girls tennis championship.

TSTCA championships

The final tune-up for next week’s WPIAL cross country championships, the Tri-State Track Coaches Association championships will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Cal (Pa.).

Among the WPIAL boys’ Class AAA teams expected to compete are North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair and Norwin.

In the boys’ Class AA and A combined race, New Castle, Ringgold, Uniontown, Shenango and South Fayette are expected to take part.

On the girls’ side of the field, Fox Chapel, Norwin, Pine-Richland, Peters Township and Moon are slated to participate in Class AAA while some of the top Class AA and A teams are Vincentian Academy, Elizabeth Forward, McKeesport, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Avonworth.

The event takes place at Roadman Park at Cal, the same site for the WPIAL championships on Oct. 25.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at .

Tags: Ambridge, Canon-McMillan, Carlynton, Central Valley, Eden Christian, Hampton, Jefferson-Morgan, Knoch, Mapletown, Mars, North Allegheny, Peters Township, Riverview, Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy, Steel Valley, Vincentian Academy