With the WPIAL finals just under two weeks away, the North Allegheny Girls’ Volleyball team looks to continue their perfect season and claim another title.
Last season, the Tigers came up short in the WPIAL championship against Pine-Richland in a 3-2 contest. However, the girls quickly bounced back and won four straight state playoff matches, including the PIAA Championship — the sixth straight PIAA title for the Tigers.
“We are excited that we have been undefeated so far in the season and want to keep on this winning streak as long as we can,” senior Jamie Frisco said.
With new leadership roles on the floor, the Tigers are 10-0 overall and 6-0 in Section 1-4A. This season has been filled with dominant performances all around, but the closest matches have been up to senior outside hitter, Kyra Schmidt, senior defensive specialist, Caileigh Duffy, and senior opposite hitter Jamie Frisco.
“The biggest motivator is definitely the willingness to prove to everyone that we can win even though we lost a really talented senior class last year,” Duffy said.
The team graduated seven players last year, leaving big holes to fill, but the Tigers have managed that change very well.
This is our first chance to really prove ourselves as a senior class and as a team going into playoffs.
— Kyra Schmidt, senior outside hitter
“The biggest motivator, for me at least, is the fact that I missed my entire season last year because I was injured and that we lost WPIALs last year,” Schmidt said. “I think also a common denominator among the team is that we graduated seven very talented seniors last year and this is our first chance to really prove ourselves as a senior class and as a team going into playoffs.”
Though the playoff brackets are not confirmed, the Tigers have a sense as to who their biggest competitors will be on their trek to the title.
“I think that every team we face in the playoffs will bring their own unique set of challenges,” Schmidt said, “but I think our toughest competition overall will be Canon Mac, Seneca Valley, and Pine-Richland. Canon Mac has had a very successful season and they are at the top of their section. Seneca Valley and Pine are two of our section rivals — our rivalry with Pine has carried over from last season.”
In the regular season, the Tigers took down both Seneca and Pine. They will meet both teams once again next week before the WPIAL playoffs begin the following week.
While the girls are focused on one match at a time, they are confident that the team has found its form as the playoffs approach. The first round will take place on Monday, October 23, 2023.
