North Allegheny, Beaver, Quaker Valley, Frazier earn No. 1 seeds as WPIAL releases girls volleyball playoff brackets

By: Michael Love
Friday, October 18, 2024 | 3:22 PM

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All of the section and nonsection matches have concluded, and invitational tournaments are in the past.

The WPIAL girls volleyball postseason is here, and the playoff pairings committee on Friday assembled and released the four classification brackets.

North Allegheny (Class 4A), Beaver (Class 3A), Quaker Valley (Class 2A) and Frazier (Class A) all drew No. 1 seeds.

The Tigers have been the No. 1 seed in Class 4A every year since girls volleyball expanded to four classifications in 2016.

The defending champions are gunning for their 10th title overall and fifth in the past seven years.

North Allegheny (14-1) received a bye to the quarterfinals and will host the winner of No. 8 Penn-Trafford and No. 9 Armstrong on Thursday.

Canon-McMillan, the No. 2 seed, and No. 3 North Catholic also received byes to the quarterfinals. Canon-McMillan hopes to bring home WPIAL gold after falling to North Allegheny, 3-1, in last year’s championship match.

North Catholic is in the Class 4A field after finishing runner-up to Hampton last year in Class 3A.

Beaver (15-3) is a No. 1 seed for the second year in a row. The Bobcats, champions of Section 4 with a perfect 10-0 record, hope to make another WPIAL-title run after topping Freeport, 3-2, in last year’s Class 2A title match.

Beaver will host either Gateway or Central Valley in a first-round match at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Mars, champion of Section 2, is the No. 2 seed and will take on either Derry or Albert Gallatin on Wednesday in the first round.

Chartiers Valley and Hampton picked up the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.

There will be a new champion in Class 2A with Beaver’s move up to Class 3A.

Freeport, last year’s Class 2A runner-up, also bumped up to Class 3A.

Quaker Valley (14-2), champion of Section 1, reached the semifinals as the No. 3 seed last year before falling to Beaver. The Quakers open WPIAL play Wednesday against either Keystone Oaks or Shenango.

In all, the top six seeds in Class 2A, including second-seeded Neshannock (13-1), await the winners of six preliminary round games set for Monday.

Twenty-two teams qualified from the five Class 2A sections. Two extra teams earned berths based on ties for fourth place in their respective sections.

Frazier (12-3) is the top seed in Class A after drawing the No. 2 seed last year.

The Commodores, the 2022 WPIAL Class A champions, hope for another run to a WPIAL title after falling to eventual runner-up Bishop Canevin in the 2023 quarterfinals. Frazier hosts Rochester in the first round at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Eden Christian is the No. 2 seed in Class A, followed by No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic and No. 4 St. Joseph. Defending Class A champion Serra Catholic is seeded eighth.

With 16 teams qualifying in Class A, there are no byes or play-in matches.

All four WPIAL championship matches will be Nov. 2 at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.

Twelve WPIAL teams also will punch tickets to the PIAA playoffs — two from Class 4A, three from Class 3A, four from Class 2A and three from Class A.

Class 3A and Class A will have consolation matches to determine their respective third-place qualifier.

North Allegheny was the lone team from the WPIAL to capture a state title last year. The Tigers won their seventh consecutive PIAA crown with a 3-0 victory over District 1 champion Unionville.

WPIAL playoffs

Class 4A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

North Allegheny (14-1) bye

Armstrong (11-4) at Penn-Trafford (10-6), 7 p.m.

Fox Chapel (6-8) at Upper St. Clair (11-5), 7 p.m.

Latrobe (11-4) at Shaler (13-3), 7 p.m.

Canon-McMillan (15-1) bye

Hempfield (10-5) at Pine-Richland (8-8), 7:30 p.m.

North Catholic (14-2) bye

Kiski Area (9-7) at Peters Township (12-4), 7 p.m.

Class 3A

Preliminary round

Monday’s schedule

Central Valley (7-9) at Gateway (8-5), 7 p.m.

Albert Gallatin (8-8) at Derry (7-8), 7 p.m.

First round

Wednesday’s schedule

Gateway/Central Valley winner at Beaver (15-3), 7 p.m.

Blackhawk (11-3) at Oakland Catholic (9-7), 7 p.m.

Greensburg Salem (15-3) at Hampton (11-5), 7 p.m.

South Fayette (9-7) at Thomas Jefferson (13-3), 7 p.m.

Albert Gallatin/Derry winner at Mars (14-4), 7 p.m.

Montour (11-4) at Indiana (14-2), 7 p.m.

Laurel Highlands (12-5) at Chartiers Valley (15-2), 7 p.m.

Ringgold (13-4) at Freeport (10-3), 7 p.m.

Class 2A

Preliminary round

Monday’s schedule

Ligonier Valley (9-8) at Yough (12-8), 7 p.m.

Mohawk (10-8) vs. Avonworth (9-9) at Keystone Oaks, 6 p.m.

Bentworth (8-10) at McGuffey (11-5), 7 p.m.

Brownsville (8-11) at Seton LaSalle (13-7), 7 p.m.

OLSH (10-6) at Laurel (11-7), 7 p.m.

Shenango (7-7) at Keystone Oaks (9-8), 7:30 p.m.

First round

Wednesday’s schedule

Shenango/Keystone Oaks winner at Quaker Valley (14-2), 7 p.m.

Charleroi (14-7) at Ellwood City (13-4), 7 p.m.

Ligonier Valley/Yough winner at South Park (13-5), 7 p.m.

Brownsville/Seton LaSalle winner at Southmoreland (14-3), 7 p.m.

OLSH/Laurel winner at Neshannock (13-1), 7 p.m.

Burrell (12-4) at South Allegheny (16-4), 7 p.m.

Bentworth/McGuffey winner at Hopewell (14-2), 7 p.m.

Mohawk/Avonworth winner at Waynesburg (17-0), 7 p.m.

Class A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Rochester (7-10) at Frazier (12-3), 7 p.m.

Beth-Center (12-4) at Serra Catholic (11-5), 7 p.m.

Union (8-11) at St. Joseph (15-3), 7 p.m.

California (8-5) at Carmichaels (12-6), 7 p.m.

Trinity Christian (8-10) vs. Eden Christian (18-2) at Pine-Richland, 6 p.m.

Aquinas Academy (9-7) at Bishop Canevin (8-7), 7 p.m.

West Greene (7-6) at Greensburg Central Catholic (13-3), 7 p.m.

Apollo-Ridge (10-5) at Beaver County Christian (14-1), 7 p.m.

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: Beaver, Frazier, North Allegheny, Quaker Valley