PIAA board expands girls volleyball to 6 classes, votes on competitive-balance rule changes

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Friday, January 24, 2025 | 5:26 PM


The PIAA will expand girls volleyball to six classifications starting in 2026.

The sport currently has only four classes, but the PIAA board on Wednesday finalized plans to add two more. PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said the move was needed because girls volleyball now has nearly the same number of teams statewide as softball and girls basketball, sports already divided into six classifications.

The PIAA has 622 schools playing girls volleyball, including 117 in the WPIAL.

“The board said we need to treat these schools commensurately with other sports that have that number,” Lombardi said.

There are 625 softball teams statewide, and 699 schools play girls basketball.

Lombardi said expansion was discussed at least twice in the past four years by the girls volleyball steering committee as the number of teams increased.

The PIAA creates schedules on a two-year cycle. The next cycle begins with the 2026-27 school year.

Competition Formula changes

The PIAA took another step toward reshaping parts of its competitive-balance rule by approving several changes, some on a second reading and others on a third vote.

Many of the changes recommended by the board in recent months make it less likely that a team will be forced into a higher classification under the rule.

All changes must pass three votes to take effect.

• The board voted on a second reading to increase the number of transfers needed to trigger the rule. The new thresholds would be five or more transfers in football and lacrosse, four or more in baseball and softball, three or more in field hockey, soccer, tennis, volleyball and wrestling and two or more in basketball.

Lombardi said the PIAA established those thresholds by dividing in half the number of players needed to start a contest and rounding down. The current threshold for football is three or more transfers and basketball is one or more.

• The board moved closer to reinstating health and safety concerns as viable grounds for appealing a competitive-balance promotion. On a second vote, the board approved a sentence that says: “Documentation or evidence regarding the impact on health and safety of the student athletes may be considered by the Executive Staff and the Board.”

• Some transfers may no longer count toward the thresholds under a change finalized by a third vote.

The board approved an exception that says: “A transfer which has occurred due to a change of family living circumstances that was necessitated by exceptional and unusual circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the student or the student’s family will be considered with supporting documentation.”

The competitive-balance rule moves some successful teams into a higher classification to compete against schools with larger enrollments. Teams must accumulate seven “success points” in a two-year cycle and add multiple transfers to be impacted by the rule. Teams cannot acquire seven points without reaching the state finals at least once, a formula change approved last month.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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