Westmoreland high school notebook: Girls volleyball moving to 6 classifications

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, March 29, 2026 | 5:25 PM

Girls volleyball was one of the few WPIAL sports that had maintained four classifications through the PIAA changeover to six classes in 2016-17.

But the sport finally joined the party.

Starting next fall, girls volleyball will have six classes.

There will be nine teams in 6A, 30 in 5A, 16 in 4A, 26 in 3A, 27 in 2A and 16 in A.

Local teams have been slotted into sections for the next two-year enrollment cycle.

Hempfield and Norwin are in Section 1-6A; Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Kiski Area and Penn-Trafford are in Section 2-5A; Belle Vernon and Greensburg Salem are in Section 2-4A; Section 1-3A has Burrell, Derry and Ligonier Valley; Section 4-3A includes Yough; and Greensburg Central Catholic is on Section 1-A.

There are no Westmoreland County teams in Class 2A.

…

GCC stars selected

After their performances in the PIAA Class 3A girls basketball championship, Greensburg Central Catholic seniors Erica Gribble and Jayla Peterson received special recognition.

The outstanding backcourt tandem were named to the PIAA HoopFest All-Championship Team.

The team was chosen by an online fan vote.

Gribble had 18 points, and Peterson added 17 in a 52-41 victory over Holy Redeemer in Hershey for GCC’s first state title in girls’ hoops since 1996-97.

…

To the Haase

Derry’s Levi Haase threw the shot put 54 feet, 9 1/2 inches in his team’s second meet of the season.

The winning distance ranks No. 3 all-time at Derry and is third best in the state so far this outdoor season.

…

Volleyball ranks

Penn-Trafford is now No. 7, and Norwin is No. 9 in the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class 3A rankings, while Derry moved to No. 8 in Class 2A.

…

Recruiting

Hempfield senior Aidan Stinebiser committed to play football at Washington & Jefferson. The 5-foot-7, 160-pound running back had over 1,000 all-purpose yards this season, including 730 rushing and nine touchdowns.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Norwin, Penn-Trafford