North Allegheny notebook: Boys lacrosse, volleyball teams advance to WPIAL finals

By: Triblive
Saturday, May 25, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Stone Gaertner had nine kills and Peter Bratich added eight kills and three blocks to lead No. 2 North Allegheny’s boys volleyball to a 3-0 win over No. 3 Butler (11-7) in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals May 21.

Game scores were 25-13, 25-22 and 25-11.

Will Hahn had 21 digs and Ryan Quatman handed out 16 assists for the Tigers (13-1), who met No. 1 Shaler in the finals.

The Tigers and Titans split a pair of meetings in the regular season.

North Allegheny has won a league-leading 22 WPIAL championships. The Tigers won five straight from 2017-22. The 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic.

Shaler defeated North Allegheny in the 2023 championship match.

Boys lacrosse tops Shady Side Academy

North Allegheny’s boys lacrosse team also advanced to the WPIAL championship game after beating top-seeded Shady Side Academy, 9-6, in the semifinals May 21.

The No. 4-seeded Tigers (14-6) were scheduled to play No. 2 Mt. Lebanon for the Class 3A title last week.

Against the Bulldogs, Evan Lyon had four goals, and Jonathan Castillo, Luke Rohan, Nick Sichak, Jack Ferraro and Travis Lamark also scored to lead the victory. Logan Lyle made 10 saves in the cage.

The Tigers have won two WPIAL boys lacrosse titles (2016 and ‘21).

NA flag football takes 2nd

For the second consecutive year, Moon (13-0) and North Allegheny (13-1) squared off in the high school girls flag football championship game, which was held May 19 at Carnegie Mellon.

No. 1 seed Moon came away victorious 32-6.

Senior Gabby Larson intercepted three passes for Moon. Each halted a long North Allegheny drive.

Moon senior quarterback Charity Fisher threw three touchdown passes.

North Allegheny senior Maddie Hartung opened the scoring with a touchdown reception from Kyra Schmidt following an interception by sophomore Maddie Williams. That was all the Tigers could muster offensively.

Moon won the West Division with a 10-0 record, and North Allegheny won the North at 10-0.

Both teams were surprised and excited when Steelers Hall-of-Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion Troy Polamalu presented their medals.

In the semifinals, North Allegheny took care of No. 3 Upper St. Clair, 8-0. Williams caught a touchdown pass, and the Tigers recorded a safety. Upper St. Clair had the ball with seconds left with a chance to tie before Tigers senior Rylee Johnson sealed the win with an interception.

With a third successful year of growth, the hope is to finally get the PIAA to sanction girls flag football as a sport. There was a huge step in the right direction earlier this month as the PIAA voted unanimously on the first reading.

Tennis team falls in PIAA semifinals

North Allegheny’s boys tennis team dropped a 3-0 decision to Conestoga in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals on May 18, at Hershey Racquet Club.

Evan Kaufman fell in singles, 6-3, 7-5, and NA’s doubles teams of Srivatsav Thriumala/Shivum Telang and Adhav Ramadas/Adtihya Ramadas Guptha also lost in straight sets.

Singles matches featuring NA’s Advalta Sircar and Trey Davidson did not finish since the match was already decided.

The WPIAL champion Tigers finished their season 18-1.

Rowers compete at Stotesbury Cup

North Allegheny’s rowing team had two boats advance to the semifinals of the 97th annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia on May 18.

The boys junior 4x of Miles Rees, Anthony Bertucci, Carson Carona and Layton Wright finished fifth in their heat and missed out on the finals.

The girls senior 4x of Kathy Zema Alex Witzel Sawyer Wright and Lorelei Schreiber placed fourth and also missed out on the finals.

Tags: North Allegheny