WPIAL Girls Volleyball Semifinals Recaps 2013

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 1, 2013 | 12:28 AM

All three of the top-seeds have done their duty and are headed to the final to play for gold on Saturday. A pair of #2-seeds will join them at Chartiers Valley along with the lone surprise team left in the district girls volleyball postseason as #7 Bethel Park will crash the top ranked party and shoot for the golden slipper on Saturday. Here are recaps from all six WPIAL Girls Volleyball Semifinals matches on Thursday as the winners got the treats and the losers settled for the tricks on Halloween night.

Thanks to Randy Gore, Lee Mohn, Sean Meyers, Mike Azadian and Greg Kuntz for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Semifinals:

North Allegheny Tigers 3 – Norwin Knights 0
The North Allegheny Lady Tigers advanced to the WPIAL Class AAA Finals with a 3-0 win over the Norwin Knights on Thursday night at Chartiers Valley High School.  The Lady Tigers claimed the victory in the semifinal round with set scores of 26-24, 25-16 and 25-15. Fresh off an impressive 3-2 win over Seneca Valley in the quarterfinals, Norwin jumped on North Allegheny in set one for an 18-12 lead behind the big swings of senior Catherine Farragonio.  Farragionio, the daughter of Norwin head coach Mary Ellen Farragonio, delivered five kills and two aces in the set to lead the Knights to the six point lead.  Following a time out by NA head coach Heidi Miller, the top-seeded Lady Tigers answered the wake-up call and clawed back for a 26-24 win. Senior Danielle Wall was clutch in the momentum swaying opening set with three kills, an ace, a block assist and countless athletic digs. North Allegheny’s rally in set one deflated the Knights as the Tigers rolled to wins of 25-16 and 25-15 in the final two sets.  Despite the loss, Ferragonio was impressive for the Knights, finishing with an unofficial 14 kills in the night.  Along with Wall, Erin Swartz had a strong evening for North Allegheny with 10 kills unofficially. North Allegheny will battle the Bethel Park Blackhawks on Saturday night at 6:30 pm for the WPIAL Championship.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 3 – Shaler Titans 1
The  Bethel Park Blackhawks are on their way to the WPIAL championship after defeating Shaler three games to one.  The scores were 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-15.  The first game was a close battle.  No team led by more than two points until Shaler took a 12-10 lead.  They would increase the lead to five but Bethel Park would tie at 22-22 before the Titans would put it away.  Annie Bozzo led the Titans with six kills and while Stacey Kazalas and Samantha Simpso tallied four kills apiece.  The second game was much the same with Kazalas and Bozzo dominating play and no team able to pull away.  The score was tied at 16-16 and Bethel got two kills from Kazalas and Simpson to in crease their lead and they went on to win game two.  unforced errors in games three and four cost Shaler.  At least eight service errors and  numerous mistakes did the Titans in.  On the night Stacey Kazalas had 14 kills and  3 aces while Annie Bozzo led the Titans with 16 kills and 4 aces.  Bethel Park will now face North Allegheny for the championship on Saturday night.

WPIAL CLASS AA Semifinals:

Indiana Little Indians 3 – Hopewell Vikings 2 
The top-seeded Indiana girls’ volleyball team advanced to the WPIAL Class AA finals with a dramatic 3-2 set victory over Hopewell at North Hills High School Thursday. The Little Indians prevailed 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, 20-25 and 15-7 against the No. 4 seed Vikings. With the victory, Indiana avenges its loss to Hopewell in the 2012 semifinals. The Vikings dominated the opening set, as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead and extended their lead to double-digits at 18-8. The Indians rallied to tie the set at 24-24 before Hopewell captured the final two points. Indiana translated its late surge into momentum for the second and third sets, which the Indians won convincingly. Senior Natalie Cignetti looked dominant for the majority of those sets for the Indians, as she repeatedly converted spike opportunities against the Vikings’ defense. Hopewell displayed resiliency, however, as the Vikings overcame an early deficit in the fourth set to gain a 6-5 edge, and never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the set. In the decisive fifth set, Indiana pulled away, as the Indians closed out the match by winning the final five points. Aaryn Gray was impressive for the Indians, particularly on the service, and Helena Dadson also accounted for several kills at the net. For the Vikings, Lauryn Driscoll utilized her height and athleticism on the front line, while Gabrielle Stala and Mackenzi Woolsey also turned in impressive efforts. Indiana will face No. 2 seed Freeport at Chartiers Valley High School on Saturday.

Freeport Yellowjackets 3 – Knoch Knights 2 
In AA Girls Volleyball semi final action at North Hills High school the Number 2 seeded Freeport Yellow Jackets beat section rival and number 6 seed The Knoch Knights by a 3-2 match score. Game scores were 25-22, 21-25, 21-25,25-15, 15-7. Game one was a battle that neither team led by more than three points. Tied at 18-18 the Jackets out scored the Knights 7-4 to win 25-22. Sophomore Zoe Pawlak was on fire offensively pounding shots at the Knoch defense. She is fast becoming one of the best players in the WPIAL. In game two the Knights got out to a big lead at 15-7. However Freeport got close at 16-15 but the Knights went on a 9-6 run to win 25-21 and tie the match 1-1. Celina Sanks did it all on defense and was a force at the net for the Knights. Knoch would win game three as well. They led nearly the whole way but for a tie  at 18-18. They would out score the Jackets 7-3 to win 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead. Schaley Renfrew and Mary Zellhart provided the spark for Knoch. With their backs to the wall Freeport dominated game 4 and won easily 25-15. Alexis Schreckengost on defense and Megan Sweeny at the service line Were all that Freeport would need. In the deciding game 5 the Yellow Jackets would cruise scoring 12 of the final 16 points to win 15-7. Brittany Bianco on defense as Libero, and Jess Kelly with key points at the net led the way. Knoch falls to 14-2 and will play again next week in the state playoffs. Freeport improves to 15-1 and will face the number 1 seed the Indiana Little Indians on Saturday at Chartiers Valley high school in the WPIAL AA championship. Indiana advanced with a 3-2 match victory over the Hopewell Vikings.

WPIAL CLASS A Semifinals:

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 3 – Neshannock Lancers 0 
The Bishop Canevin Crusaders had been in cruise control throughout the WPIAL playoffs with 3-0 victories over Springdale and Serra Catholic.  In stark contrast, Neshannock scrapped, scratched, and clawed their way to upset wins over SS Beaver and Shenango.  The first game between the Crusaders and the Lancers looked like a seesaw matchup as Neshannock pushed BC to within 1 point, but s sevice error by the Lancers at 22-21 destroyed any and all momentum they were building, and the Crusaders would serve out the rest, winning 25-21.  BC would go on to dominate the rest of the way, utilizing a 9-0 run near the end of Game 2 to win, 25-11, and outscoring Neshannock 15-5 in the stretch run of Game 3 to put the match away 25-13 and 3-0.  Bishop Canevin advances to the Class A Finals where they will face the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions.  As with GCC and OLSH, both BC and Neshannock will also be in the PIAA State Playoffs by virtue of qualifying for WPIAL Semifinals.  BC and GCC will battle for the WPIAL Class A Title Saturday afternoon, November 2, at Chartiers Valley High School.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 3 – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 1 
The Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions started their Semifinal match with OLSH with a dominating performance, winning Game 1 25-12.  OLSH seemed to regroup in Game 2 and were at game point with a 24-19 score, but GCC struck back with 5 straight points to force the game beyond the 25-point limit to win.  The Centurions would eventually pick up the win, 28-26.  However, OLSH would regroup just enough in a hotly-contested Game 3 to win 25-22.  GCC would resume their dominance in Game 4 with a 25-12 near no-contest.  GCC advanced to the Class A finals with a 3-1 victory.  The season for OLSH, however, will continue as they and the Centurions have both qualified for the PIAA State Playoffs.  It would not take long for GCC to find out who their adversaries in the Finals would be.