Volleyball star, WPIAL championship team headline Pine-Richland hall of fame class

By: Jerin Steele
Saturday, August 10, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Jamel (Nicholas) Debri hasn’t been back to Pine-Richland since she graduated nearly two decades ago, but before going to Notre Dame, she left her imprint on the Rams’ volleyball program.

Debri was a standout on Pine-Richland’s only state championship volleyball team in 2005 and is one of the members of this year’s Pine-Richland Athletic Hall of Fame Class.

“I’m very humbled to receive that honor,” Debri said. “Athletics has played a big role in my life. It started at an early age and Pine-Richland was a big part of that.”

The 2005 Pine-Richland girls volleyball team is also being inducted.

John Falvo, Scott Heim, Dale Mollenhauer and Roger Price are the other individuals in the 2024 class.

All inductees will be honored on the field prior to the Pine-Richland football home game Oct. 4, and a banquet will be held in the high school cafeteria at 6 p.m. Oct. 5.

Debri was a senior on the ’05 team that won the school’s second WPIAL title, defeating Moon 3-1 in the final.

The win clinched the Rams a spot at states, which had a bit of a different format than present day. At the time, each team was invited to one location and split into pools, as opposed to the single-elimination bracket style currently used.

Pine-Richland advanced out of its pool and eventually qualified for the championship match. The Rams defeated Villa Maria in the final.

“We played for coach Kris Ruppert my freshman and sophomore years and she played an integral role in setting the tone for what Pine-Richland volleyball was,” Debri said. “Then coach Emily Gerega came to us my junior and senior years. She was a breath of fresh air. She let us play freely, but let us know what needed to be done. Senior year we realized we had a very good team, and it was a matter of being able to follow through with it.”

Debri committed to Notre Dame as a sophomore.

Her original dream was to play at Penn State, but she said she was told by legendary Nittany Lions coach Russ Rose that they were also recruiting another setter in her class and that other setter would play over her.

“As a sophomore in high school, that’ll crush your dreams a bit about playing at the next level, but honestly it’s some of the best feedback I’d ever gotten, because that girl (Alisha Glass) went on to play at Penn State, won three national titles and became the Olympic setter,” Debri said. “As competitive and as talented as I was, I knew there wasn’t anything for me past college volleyball, so took to heart what (Rose) said.

“When the opportunity to play at Notre Dame came along, I knew it was a great school that would provide a great education and it was a Catholic community, which was important to me. I couldn’t pass up that opportunity.”

Notre Dame played a pivotal role in Debri’s life both on and off the court.

Her best friends to this day are the six other girls that were in her recruiting class. As seniors, they led the Fightin’ Irish to a Big East championship.

After volleyball, Debri entered grad school at Notre Dame for education and met her husband there.

They live in Grand Rapids, Mich. with their four children.

Debri said the plan is to make the trip for the ceremony and revisit her high school.

“I don’t think I’ve been back to Pine-Richland since I graduated, so it will be a fun thing to do,” Debri said. “Our 2005 state championship team is being honored too, so I’m hoping that some of the girls be there. It’ll be a fun reunion to have. My kids, I feel like, are at an age where it will be fun to go back and see what mom did and where I grew up, so we’re hoping to make it work.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Pine-Richland