Sewickley Herald notebook: Quaker Valley tennis run ends in state semifinals

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, November 3, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley’s girls tennis team saw its 2024 season end in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals at the Hershey Racquet Club.

QV, this year’s WPIAL runner-up, defeated District 9 champion Elk County Christian, 5-0, in the first round and District 3 winner Berks Catholic, 4-1, in the quarterfinals.

District 2 champion Scranton Prep beat the Quakers by a 3-0 score Oct. 26 in the semifinal round to improve to 20-2 overall.

Scranton Prep finished as the PIAA runner-up as District 1 titlist Lower Moreland won the PIAA championship in a 3-2 decision.

QV ended the season with a 15-3 record.

Big goals

Quaker Valley’s Lily Baker and Sewickley Academy’s Katherine Varghese shared the girls spotlight Oct. 29 with game-winning goals in the WPIAL soccer playoffs.

Baker, a freshman defender/midfielder, scored the lone goal as No. 2 QV edged No. 7 Deer Lakes, 1-0, in the Class 2A quarterfinal round.

Varghese, a senior forward, did likewise to lift the fifth-seeded Panthers to a 1-0 win over No. 13 Aquinas Academy in the Class A quarterfinals.

Freshman goalkeeper Ava Hajok recorded the shutout for the 15-2-2 Quakers, who took an 11-game unbeaten streak and 14 shutouts into their semifinal game Oct. 29 against No. 6 North Catholic.

Senior Marie Bigi was the winning goalkeeper for Sewickley (13-3-1), which faced No. 1 Springdale on Oct. 29 in the semifinals.

The Panthers were riding a seven-game winning streak going into their game with NC. Six of the seven victories were shutouts.

1st-round wins

Ari Bosh, a junior midfielder, scored twice to spark Quaker Valley past No. 12 Southmoreland, 4-0, in the first round of the WPIAL girls soccer tournament.

Baker and sophomore F/D Rowan Wallace added a goal apiece.

At the start of the season, QV was seeking its first WPIAL girls soccer title since 1992 when it won the second of back-to-back championships.

Last year, the Quakers, as the No. 9 seed, fell to No. 1 Avonworth, 4-3, in the quarterfinals before the Antelopes went on to claim their third WPIAL title in a row.

Sewickley Academy also blanked No. 12 Riverside, 2-0, in its first-round playoff test behind goals by Eannarino and sophomore midfielder Mya Spadafore.

Bigi was the winning goalkeeper again.

All-WPIAL honors

A tip of the cap goes out to several area soccer players for landing all-WPIAL accolades for the 2024 season.

They include Quaker Valley senior defender Mia Modrovich, sophomore midfielder Annabel Miko and Bosh. Three Sewickley Academy girls also were selected: Varghese, Bigi and Emma Eannarino, a sophomore midfielder.

Allie Emswiler, a sophomore defender at Eden Christian, was named all-WPIAL, as well.

Among the boys, QV senior forward Colin Benge and junior defender Tanner Shultz were named all-WPIAL, as was Sewickley Academy’s Finn Wentz, a junior midfielder.

Eden Christian’s senior midfielder Cole King also was honored as a WPIAL all-star.

Volleyball victory

Top-seeded Quaker Valley swept No. 8 Ellwood City in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoffs by scores of 25-15, 25-21, 25-18.

The Quakers, who improved to 16-2, clashed with No. 5 Southmoreland Oct. 29 in the semifinal round.

Tags: Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy