Shaler, Latrobe earn top seeds for WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs

By: Michael Love
Friday, May 12, 2023 | 2:45 PM

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Shaler in Class 3A and Latrobe in Class 2A are the top seeds as the WPIAL released the boys volleyball playoff brackets Friday afternoon.

“Before the pairings were even released, I knew there were a lot of good teams in our bracket and there would be a lot of interesting matchups no matter where the committee decided to seed the teams,” Shaler coach Paul Stadelman said.

“There’s been so much high-quality volleyball in Triple-A this year. I can see a lot of the matchups in all rounds, despite the seedings, going in either direction.”

Shaler, at 13-1 overall, is seeking its first WPIAL title in boys volleyball. The Titans captured Section 2 with an 11-1 record. Their only section loss came at the hands of No. 7 Seneca Valley (13-4).

“The guys are excited to go after a title,” Stadelman said. “Their body of work speaks for itself. They’ve played a lot of tough matches this year, including in our section. They’ve performed well under pressure, and they are ready to do it again.”

Five-time defending Class 3A WPIAL champion North Allegheny (9-3) is seeded second.

“The guys are really looking forward to trying to defend their title, and they know we have a target on our backs,” North Allegheny coach Dan Long said.

“We know we are going to have to be at our very best for every game we play starting with our (quarterfinal game).”

Section 3 champion Penn-Trafford (15-1) is the No. 3 seed. Its only loss in the regular season came against Shaler.

The Warriors won the WPIAL Class 3A championship in 2016, the year before North Allegheny began its title streak.

Section 1 champ and No. 4 seed Canon-McMillan is the only undefeated team in Class 3A. The Big Macs are 16-0.

All four top seeds in Class 3A receive a bye to the quarterfinals set for Thursday.

First-round matches in both classifications are set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the home of the higher seed.

In Class 3A, No. 9 Upper St. Clair (12-5) will play at No. 8 Hempfield (12-5), No. 10 Moon (8-6) is at Seneca Valley, No. 6 Butler (11-5) hosts No. 11 Central Catholic (5-8) and No. 12 Peters Township (6-12) travels to No. 5 Norwin (13-5).

Latrobe (10-4), like Shaler, is seeking its first WPIAL boys volleyball title.

The Wildcats, who dropped down from Class 3A this season, shared the Section 2 title with Mars (14-3). The teams split their section series, and both finished 9-1.

Mars was tabbed the No. 2 seed.

The last time Latrobe was a No. 1 seed was in 2007. The Wildcats were undefeated through the Class 2A semifinals but fell to Montour, 3-1, in the championship match.

“The guys are happy with the top seed, but they know they have work to do,” veteran Latrobe coach Drew Vosefski said. “We’ve been No. 1 since the second or third week of the polling, at least in the coaches association, so we’ve had a target on our backs for quite a few weeks. We’ve learned to live with that, and they realize the challenges and responsibilities that come with it.

“I realized that with the girls in Double-A in the fall; the talent level and competition was very high. With the boys season, it’s been the same truth. The competition is very good. As I tell my players every day, the other teams have pride and they’re going to play their butts off. We’ve seen that throughout the season. There is just a very high level of play, and I see that continuing through the playoffs.”

Seton LaSalle (16-4) and South Fayette (13-4) shared the Section 3 title. The Rebels are seeking a return to the top in Class 2A after having won the WPIAL title in 2021.

Seton LaSalle was selected by the pairings committee as the No. 3 seed, receiving the third Class 2A bye to the quarterfinals.

Section 1 champion North Catholic (12-4) is the No. 4 seed, and South Fayette is seeded fifth.

Because of a tie for fourth between South Park and Trinity in Section 3, both teams qualified, adding a 13th team to the Class 2A field. That eliminated the fourth first-round bye.

Seventh seed Montour (11-7) is the defending Class 2A champion. The Spartans host No. 10 Gateway (10-5) on Tuesday.

Montour’s 2007 WPIAL Class 2A title victory over Latrobe came in the first year the WPIAL split into two classifications for boys volleyball.

Ambridge (10-4), winners of 10 WPIAL boys volleyball titles including nine between 2008-2019, is the No. 6 seed and will host No. 11 Derry (9-8).

The other first-round matchup features No. 9 Thomas Jefferson (12-5) visiting No. 8 Hopewell (11-7).

Championship matches are set for May 25 at Peters Township.

Three teams in both Class 3A and Class 2A will advance to the PIAA tournaments, which begin June 6.

Class 3A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Shaler bye; Upper St. Clair at Hempfield, 7 p.m.; Canon-McMillan bye; Peters Township at Norwin, 7 p.m.; North Allegheny bye; Moon at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m.; Penn-Trafford bye; Central Catholic at Butler, 7 p.m.

Class 2A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Latrobe bye; Thomas Jefferson at Hopewell, 7 p.m.; Trinity at North Catholic, 7 p.m.; South Park at South Fayette, 7 p.m.; Mars bye; Gateway at Montour, 7 p.m.; Seton LaSalle bye; Derry at Ambridge, 7 p.m.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.