North Allegheny, OLSH maintain top spots in WPIAL Volleyball Coaches Association rankings

By: Michael Love
Monday, April 11, 2022 | 11:32 AM

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North Allegheny (Class 3A) and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Class 2A) held on to their respective No. 1 spots in the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s Week 3 WPIAL boys top 10 polls released Monday morning.

The Tigers capped this past week with a semifinal finish at the prestigious Koller Classic at Central York High School. NA suffered a close 25-23 loss to District 3’s Central Dauphin in a rematch of last year’s Class 3A state title matchup won by the Tigers, 3-1.

NA also remained unbeaten in Section 2 play with a 3-0 victory over Butler on Thursday.

Seneca Valley maintained its No. 2 position with Section 2 sweeps of Pine-Richland and North Hills and the team championship at Saturday’s Peters Township tournament.

The Raiders topped Canon-McMillan 2-0 in the title match.

Norwin (No. 3), Shaler (No. 4) and Hempfield (No. 5) held onto their top-five spots.

Penn-Trafford stayed at No. 6, Butler bumped up one spot to No. 7, Canon-McMillan moved up two spots to No. 8, and Latrobe held on to the No. 9 position.

Upper St. Clair returned to the Class 3A rankings at No. 10.

OLSH began last week with two key Section 1 victories, including Tuesday’s five-set battle with No. 4 Ambridge.

North Catholic solidified its position at No. 2 with three wins. The Trojans also topped Ambridge (3-1) and scored a close 3-2 victory over No. 6 Hopewell.

Seton LaSalle and Ambridge remained at Nos. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while Montour (No. 6 to No. 5) and Hopewell (No. 5 to No. 6) traded places in the Class 2A poll.

Thomas Jefferson (No. 8 to No. 7) and Gateway (No. 7 to No. 8) also traded places in the rankings.

Derry moved into the Class 2A rankings at No. 9, while Trinity slid down one spot to No. 10.

Each week, all of the WPIAL coaches have the opportunity to vote for the teams in the top-10 rankings. The classification players of the week are selected by the coaches association based on coaches nominations.

Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association

Top 10 Rankings – Week 3

Class 3A

1. North Allegheny (last week: 1)

2. Seneca Valley (2)

3. Norwin (3)

4. Shaler (4)

5. Hempfield (5)

6. Penn-Trafford (6)

7. Butler (8)

8. Canon-McMillan (10)

9. Latrobe (9)

10. Upper St. Clair (NR)

Out: Peters Township (7)

Class 3A Players of the Week

Kaleb Proudfoot, senior, middle hitter, Butler

Porter Rauch, senior, middle hitter, Upper St. Clair

Dominic Rossi, senior, outside hitter, Shaler

Class 2A

1. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (last week: 1)

2. North Catholic (2)

3. Seton LaSalle (3)

4. Ambridge (4)

5. Montour (6)

6. Hopewell (5)

7. Thomas Jefferson (8)

8. Gateway (7)

9. Derry (NR)

10. Trinity (9)

Out: Plum (10)

Class 2A Players of the Week:

Chris Lewis, senior, outside hitter/middle hitter, Gateway

Connor Roberts, senior, setter, Trinity

Aidan Ward, senior, libero, North Catholic

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: Ambridge, Butler, Canon-McMillan, Derry Area, Gateway, Hempfield, Hopewell, Latrobe, Montour, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Norwin, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Penn-Trafford, Seneca Valley, Seton La Salle, Shaler, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, Upper St. Clair