At noon on Saturday, while all was quiet on the NASH campus, the 19 young ladies that make up the WPIAL champion Girls’ Volleyball Team boarded their bus and departed for the PIAA State Championship game full of determination.

NA Girls’ Volleyball had not tasted the glory of a state championship game since 1994 and was looking to add 2017 to the banner that flies high in the NASH gym. Ranked first in the WPIAL and second in the state, the team was predicted to perform well in Saturday’s game at Richland High School in Johnstown, PA.

And that they did, winning three straight and decisive sets against top-ranked Bishop Shanahan to claim the state title.

The road to states appeared to be free and clear for the Lady Tigers as they finished their regular season with a perfect record, dropping only four sets. First in their section, the team was ranked first going into the WPIAL playoffs and remained number one by clinching the league championship title after defeating Armstrong.

The girls kept a perfect postseason record, dropping not a single set until last Tuesday’s state semifinal game against Garnet Valley, which went to the maximum five sets. Garnet Valley won the first two, leaving Tiger fans wondering if they were witnessing the end of the girls’ historic season. However, the Tigers unexpectedly turned the tables, going on to win the next three sets with the final score of the fifth set a restless 20-18.

“After the second set, I thought we would win because during our season we had some crazy comebacks,” senior defensive specialist Grace Flanders said. “I knew our team was strong.”

Junior outside hitter Avery Tuman agreed, adding, “I still had hope for our team after that second game because I remembered when we were losing to Upper St. Clair and came back in five. I felt confident we could do that again.”

Endurance proved to be one of the squad’s many assets, owing to the meticulous training led by Head Coach Heidi Miller and Assistant Coach Molly Tuman.

“The training gave us the extra push that we needed to finish rallies and games,” senior rightside Mika Logan said. “We are constantly outworking teams and the training has also prevented a lot of injury during season.”

But Saturday afternoon promised to put the girls’ training and skills to the ultimate test. Both Bishop Shanahan and NA were undefeated heading into the match, and the two were ranked first and second, respectively, in the state.

“Bishop Shanahan has a group of very tall girls, but I think our defense can handle it,” senior defensive specialist Taylor Helkowski said a day before the game. “I think it will be a close match and it could go either way, but we have been preparing every day and studying scouting reports, so I think we are as prepared as we can be.”

For Coach Miller, there was no denying that the pressure was on.  Then again, it was hardly unfamiliar territory.

“This group has played under tremendous pressure this season and come through when it counted,” she said. “We will just need to do that one more time to get this title.”

When the match ended at an unusually early 7:20pm, Miller and the girls had reached perfection, capping a perfect season with a clean sweep.