Resilient Pine-Richland volleyball team beats odds to contend for playoff spot

By: Shawn Annarelli
Saturday, October 3, 2020 | 11:01 AM

North Allegheny seemed poised to slam the door shut on Pine-Richland.

Down 2-0 to the three-time defending state volleyball champions, the Rams weren’t willing to give in.

“We were playing very well and with lots of emotion, and we knew we just needed to make a couple more breaks for ourselves,” interim coach Shawn Grady said. “When you’re scoring in the 20s, honestly above 18, you’re right there. We didn’t make any lineup changes and went after them. I’m really proud of how the girls responded to that.”

Pine-Richland lost in four sets, but a victory in the third set and a tight fourth showed what Grady knew about the team he’d been with for 24 days.

“When I think about this team, I think about their resiliency after everything they’ve been through,” Grady said.

The girls volleyball team joined a student-athlete rally in late August to urge the school board to allow athletics. A week later, they cried on a Zoom call when two of their three coaches stepped down two days before tryouts, once again putting the season in limbo.

Grady, the boys team’s coach, stepped in knowing the program had been competitive in recent years but not much else.

“The girl who became our starting libero is Makenzie (Nelson), and I didn’t know her name during tryouts,” Grady said. “You usually see them play with open gyms, but we had tryouts without me ever seeing them play or knowing most of their names.”

Despite an inital flurry of uncertainty around their season, a relatively young team resolved to make the best of their season.

“There’s a drastic change between where we were a month ago and now,” Nelson, a senior captain, said. “I feel so blessed we have a season. I feel so blessed to have a coach. I am so grateful we’re playing as well as we are. I learned you never know what’s going to happen and you can’t take what you have for granted. We’ve had to pull together through a lot.”

Grady is optimistic about Pine-Richland’s chances after a 3-3 start to the season, 3-2 in the section. He is the Rams’ third coach in as many seasons and hopes to stay with the team.

“I think we’re in the mix because we’re a strong team,” Grady said. “We’re building on things now that we’ve opened up and gotten to know each other.”

Kaili Doctor and Sophie Catalano, who Grady said are among the top hitters in WPIAL, have led the team offensively. They are joined on the outside by Malaikah Kazi and on the inside by Sophia Menke and Sarah Faber.

Ekaterini Balouris has stepped up as a defensive specialist, and first-year setter Makayla Roy also has secured her role in managing the offense.

“Makayla has been very impressive,” Grady said. “She has the physical ability and is quickly learning the mental part of being the setter. She’s improving every day. Everyone is. I run a pretty unique offense with the boys team, but I didn’t want to drop an entirely new offense on them. There was enough change, but we’re definitely bringing in new wrinkles.”

After navigating its early season challenges, Pine-Richland is eyeing a return to the playoffs.

“We’ve worked so hard for years, and we’re more grateful than ever that we have one another,” Nelson said. “We want to win each game from tonight on. It’s a big goal and it sounds crazy after everything that’s happened, but it’s hard to imagine not having that same mindset every night.”

Tags: Pine-Richland