Quaker Valley girls volleyball makes more history with 1st WPIAL title

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, November 10, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The Quaker Valley girls volleyball team has a handle on this history-making thing. The Quakers have been able to rack up historic seasons in 2023 and 2024.

Last year, QV ended up third in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament, qualified for the PIAA playoffs and finished 17-4. The Quakers lost to only to two teams, Montour and Beaver (three times).

And the historic part of their season came in section play. The Quakers went undefeated for the first time, winning the Section 4-2A title with a 14-0 record. QV won 11 of its 14 matches by 3-0 margins.

A girls volleyball banner now hangs in the QV gym for the first time at the Beaver Street school.

QV finished with a 14-2 regular-season record and 16-2 against WPIAL opponents last year. The Quakers reached the semifinals as the No. 3 seed before falling to Beaver.

This year, after finishing first again in Section 1-2A with a 14-0 record, QV qualified for the WPIAL championships for the first time in school history.

Quaker Valley received the No. 1 seed and clashed with No. 3 Hopewell in the finals Nov. 2 at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.

“I am very excited and proud of these girls for working hard and earning their way into this position,” QV coach Mike Vavrek said. “This team found a way to finally get past the semifinals, which have gotten the better of us the last two years.

“Other than that, just excited for the matchup against a very good Hopewell team.”

The Quakers added to their success by capturing the first WPIAL girls volleyball championship in school history with a 3-0 win Nov. 2 against Hopewell.

QV has been led by five returning starters in 2024: seniors Vanessa Pickett, a 5-foot-8 setter, 5-11 Molly MacDonald and 5-7 Nora Hammond as outside hitters, and 5-5 defensive specialist Carmen Forsythe. The fifth starter back from a year ago is 5-9 junior Mia Gartley, a middle hitter.

“This is a very exciting and new chapter in Quaker Valley’s history,” Forsythe said, “and I’m so glad to be a part of it. We are all excited and proud of how far we’ve come.”

Pickett and Hammond believe the team’s camaraderie has led to a second consecutive high-quality season for the Quakers.

“I am so incredibly happy to have qualified for the WPIAL finals,” Pickett said. “We have worked so hard for this opportunity, and I’m really excited to see what we accomplish the rest of the postseason.

“One of the reasons we’ve made it this far is our team chemistry. We all care for one another, and we play for each other.”

Hammond agreed.

“I am beyond proud of this team and how we have stayed consistent this season by playing our best no matter the opponent,” she said. “I am grateful to be a part of a team that has the skill and talent to make it to the WPIAL finals.

“However, we would have never gotten here without the respect that we have for each other on and off the court and for our coaches. I am very thankful to be on this team and have the opportunity to keep playing volleyball in the postseason.”

Similar to their performance at the WPIAL finals, the Quakers didn’t lose a game in the tournament’s first three rounds, blanking No.16 Keystone Oaks, No.8 Ellwood City and No.5 Southmoreland by 3-0 scores.

MacDonald attributed a lot of her team’s success to Vavrek, QV’s veteran coach.

“I was very excited to play in the WPIAL match. It’s a first for everyone,” MacDonald said. “I’m super happy to be able to be part of the team that has made school history in winning our section two years in a row and being top two in the WPIAL.

“Coach Vav puts so much time and effort into our volleyball team. He has been coaching the senior class since the seventh grade. It is nice to be a part of this winning team for him, to reap the rewards of his coaching us for the last six years.”

Gartley said the Quakers’ devout diligence and focus on detail paid off with a trip to the finals.

“I’m super pumped we had this opportunity to advance to WPIAL finals.” she said. “It’s already huge that we became section champions again and made it this far.

“Everyone on the team has worked so hard to get to this point. We definitely couldn’t have done it without our coaches and supporters, so a huge thank you to them.”

The two other players in the Quaker’s regular rotation are underclassmen: Bella Jarrett, a 5-9 junior right-side hitter/defensive specialist, and Nola Ebbert, a 5-10 sophomore middle hitter.

All seven girls in QV’s starting rotation were named all-section including Pickett, MacDonald and Hammond on the first team. Forsythe, Gartley, Jarrett and Ebberts were second-team selections.

Pickett, MacDonald, Hammond, Forsythe and Gartley also were all-section honorees in 2023.

Tags: Quaker Valley