Quaker Valley prepares to defend WPIAL girls volleyball title

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, August 3, 2025 | 1:10 PM

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The WPIAL season ended for the 2024 Quaker Valley girls volleyball team with a police-escorted parade with firetrucks traveling through the town of Sewickley on the way back to the high school.

The Quakers were celebrating their first appearance in the WPIAL finals and winning their first district title in school history, defeating section rival Hopewell, 3-0, in the finals at Peters Township’s AHN Arena

“We went to a nice Italian dinner out at a restaurant by Peters Township after the match,” QV coach Mike Vavrek said. “Then we got a police escort with firetrucks and all. It was very cool and something those girls will always remember.”

Four of the girls in QV’s starting rotation last year — outside hitters Molly MacDonald and Nora Hammond, setter Vanessa Pickett and defensive specialist Carmen Forsythe — were seniors.

Seniors Mia Gartley, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter, and Bella Jarrett, a 5-9 outside/right-side hitter, and junior Nola Ebberts, a 5-10 middle/outside hitter, are the only returning starters in 2025.

The dexterous Gartley captured the WPIAL Class 2A girls high jump championship in each of her first two seasons on the QV girls track and field team.

“Mia has played middle hitter the last two years by necessity,” Vavrek said. “She is moving to a position (outside hitter) that is a more natural fit for her. She is athletic and someone we will look at to put a lot of balls away for us this year.

“Bella played right-side last year for us and will be someone we will be looking to have a bigger role for the team this year. She is one of a few options we are looking at for the other outside hitter. But she will be on the court in a defensive and serve-receive role, as well.”

Ebberts was the lone sophomore in the team’s regular rotation a year ago and is another player who may be flip-flopping positions in ‘25.

“Nola was a middle hitter last year,” Vavrek said. “She may play middle as well this year but is another one we are looking at to play the other outside hitter position.”

Other girls striving to make an impact for the Quakers include seniors Gabby Frank, Ella Palmer and Donika Keo; along with juniors Rachel Bartels, Maya Sidani, Megan Harris, Cadence Stancil and Aria Casilla.

Micaiah Jones is a top sophomore prospect while freshmen Emma Duckstein and Sydney Kline hope to help out at the varsity level.

“I would like this team to continue to work hard and improve every day,” Vavrek said. “We will have a very different team compared to last year. Last year, we were very experienced, and this year we will be a team that will need to grow and continue to learn the game as the season progresses.

“We do have a lot of girls that have been around the program and know the successes of this program, not just last year but the things this program has done the past three years.”

The Quakers will rely on strong defensive play to carry them through the early portion of the season.

“I think this team’s strength has to be defense,” Vavro said. “We’ve got to keep the ball off the floor and make it hard for other teams to score.

“Right now, there are a lot of girls competing and we have quite a few options. We are still working on starters though. But I do believe every one of those girls will get a ton of opportunities as the year progresses. They have all shown they can make plays and do good things for us. I think when it comes down to picking a lineup it will be about who is most consistent.”

QV dominated the opposition in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament last season. The Quakers’ championship formula was threefold: Consistent serves combined with solid defense and a productive offense.

The QV girls did not lose a set as the No. 1 seed in the district playoffs, rolling past No. 16 Keystone Oaks, No. 8 Ellwood City, No. 5 Southmoreland and No. 3 Hopewell, all by 3-0 scores.

The championship match lasted only a little more than an hour and 15 minutes.

“After winning, I was absolutely overwhelmed with excitement,” Ebbets said. “The whole team ran onto the court and piled up on each other, which was very fun, and we cheered and screamed for a long while after that.

“We were all so excited, and we ran to the locker room to scream and cheer a bunch more. We also made some silly videos and took lots of pictures.”

It was Vavrek’s first time reaching the WPIAL final as head coach and first time he won a district crown.

“I believe we played our game throughout the WPIAL playoffs,” Vavrek said. “The championship match was no different. Despite the score or situation, we stayed together as a team and never got too high when leading or too low when we were trailing.”

The Quakers won the Section 1-2A title with a 14-0 record and finished 18-3 overall. Hopewell ended up second at 12-2 with its only two losses to QV.

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

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

The Quakers lost to Class 3A Beaver in their first match last season, won seven in a row, then lost to another 3A team, Freeport, 3-1, in late September — leading to 11 consecutive wins and culminating with the district championship.

QV reached the WPIAL semifinals in 2022 and 2023, finishing 18-5 and 17-4. The Quakers secured their first section title in school history in ‘23 with a 14-0 record, qualifying for states for the second year in a row and third time ever.

The previous season, QV won a PIAA playoff game for the first time in school history, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to edge Kane, 3-2, in the first round.

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