WPIAL unveils girls volleyball playoff brackets

By: Michael Love
Monday, October 21, 2019 | 12:57 PM

North Allegheny, Knoch, North Catholic and Bishop Canevin earned top seeds in their respective classifications as the WPIAL released girls volleyball playoff brackets Monday.

In Class AAAA, second-seeded Pine-Richland, No. 3 Canon-McMillan and No. 4 Moon will join a field of 12 hoping to unseat the Tigers, who are searching for their third straight WPIAL title and sixth in program history.

Knoch is gunning for its third consecutive WPIAL crown in Class AAA and hopes to fend off the challenges of teams such as No. 2 seed Thomas Jefferson, No. 3 South Fayette and No. 4 Franklin Regional.

North Catholic is the defending champion in Class AA, while No. 2 seed Freeport hopes to win its first WPIAL title since 2015 and fifth overall since 2010. Frazier is the No. 3 seed, while Serra is No. 4.

Class AA is the largest field with 21 teams qualifying from the five sections.

Bishop Canevin, which ran the table in Section 3-A, joins North Allegheny and Knoch in seeking its third straight WPIAL title.

Fort Cherry is the No. 2 seed in Class A, followed by No. 3 Shenango and No. 4 Carmichaels.

Play-in games begin Tuesday with the first-round matchups set for Wednesday in Class AAAA and AAA and Thursday in Class AA and A.

The quarterfinals will be Oct. 28-29, and the semifinals will be Oct. 30-31.

The four championship matches will be at Fox Chapel on Nov. 2.

The top two teams in Class AAAA and the top three in Class A will advance to the PIAA tournament, while the top four in Class AAA and AA will earn berths to states.

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.