Penn-Trafford boys volleyball finishes season strong

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, May 25, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Latrobe boys volleyball coach Drew Vosefski said he was concerned about playing Penn-Trafford for a third time.

Even though Latrobe had won the previous two section matches, the Wildcats faced a different Penn-Trafford squad in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals May 15 and Vosefski’s worries became reality.

The sixth-seeded Warriors rallied to stun the third-seeded Wildcats, 3-2, by the scores of 21-25, 28-26, 25-18, 18-25 and 16-14.

The Warriors (12-7), who lost twice to the Wildcats (16-2) in section play, faced second-seeded Seneca Valley in the semifinals and gave the Raiders a scare before falling 3-2.

They were scheduled to play fifth-seeded Pine-Richland for third place May 23 for a berth in the PIAA playoffs.

Schall said the Latrobe match swung in the second game when his team started to serve better.

“Once we did that, we put them on their heels,” Schall said. “I am really proud of how we played. It was a tough match, and we put everything we had into it. I guess I did too.

“In Game 1, we did not give them much trouble with our serves. We served better starting in Game 2. We had some guys who really served well. We started putting them in some tough spots.”

Latrobe dominated the first game. Penn-Trafford swung the momentum its way in Game 2 early, but Latrobe battled back and tied the score at 25-all.

The Wildcats actually took a 26-25 lead before the Warriors, behind a kill by Caiden McDonald and Nick Laskey, rallied to tie the match, 1-1.

Schall felt Owen Gisi played well up front in all five games with his blocking ability.

The teams split the next two games, Penn-Trafford winning 25-18 and Latrobe answering 25-18, to set up the thrilling Game 5.

“This is playoff volleyball,” Vosefski said. “We had beaten them twice, but there is an old saying is when you get punched to the face, how much do you punch back? They punched back.

“Beating a team for a third time bothered me, but I am not going to make excuses. They played well.”

In the final game, the winner is the first team to 15, win by two. The game was close and went back and forth.

Penn-Trafford took a 12-10 lead, but the Wildcats tied it 12-12. Penn-Trafford went back up 14-12 as Gisi, McDonald and setter Natheniel Rugh started making plays.

Latrobe senior Luke Fiore tied the score 14-all with a service ace, but the next serve sailed long, setting up the final point, and McDonald finished it with a block.

“That was a tremendous team we beat,” Schall said. “They have an excellent setter and hitter. But we stepped up. I knew we would have to be really good, and I thought we’d be in the ballgame.”

Seneca Valley held off a ferocious effort from Penn-Trafford, picking up a 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-3 win to reach the WPIAL title game for the fourth time in the past 10 years.

Schall said he was happy with the Warriors’ effort.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Schall said. “We were a third-place team in our section. I thought we were pretty good. I’m proud of the guys for the way they fought hard through the match. Unfortunately, we needed to get through that stretch in the fifth set still in the ballgame.”

Penn-Traffird’s biggest challenge was to find a way to handle Seneca Valley’s middle blockers, 6-foot-9 Brandon Suski and 6-5 Jordan Hoover.

Owen Gisi and Nick Laskey hit well for the Warriors.

“We handled their middle guys OK,” Schall said. “(Hoover) had a fantastic fifth game hitting and blocking. We did well enough to take their big guy (Suski) out. They had to put another guy in. We had to serve well.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn-Trafford