Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted its championship games for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Volleyball Championships last Thursday and Friday at AHN Arena on the campus of Peters Township High School. Shaler successfully defended the Class 3A crown, while Mars remained undefeated after winning at Class 2A.
Shaler won its second straight WPIAL boys’ volleyball title, which are the school’s only two in its history. The Titans are the first team since Beaver County Christian in 2017 to immediately follow its first title with a second.
Mars is a first-time WPIAL boys’ volleyball champion, becoming the 24th different school to raise the trophy. The Fightin’ Planets are the second new champion in as many years at Class 2A, with North Catholic accomplishing the feat last year.
The top three teams in both Class 2A and Class 3A have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Volleyball Championships, which begin Tuesday, June 4 and conclude with all championship games on Saturday, June 15 at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University.
CLASS 3A RECAP
In a rematch of last year’s Class 3A final, top-seeded Shaler produced the same result and successfully defended the WPIAL title with a four-set (25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22) victory over second-seeded North Allegheny last Thursday night.
Shaler (16-1, 11-1 Section II) hit at a .229 clip as a team and recorded 6.0 team blocks to North Allegheny’s (13-2, 11-1 Section II) 4.0. The Tigers owned a 7-3 edge in service aces.
The Titans were led by a 21.0-point performance from senior middle blocker Dante Palombo, who recorded 16 kills on a .294 hitting percentage with four blocks (2 solo, 2 assist) and two service aces, while adding nine digs. Senior outside hitter Logan Peterson posted a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, and classmate Peyton Planz hit at .533 clip with nine kills and an assisted block. Senior setter Zach Rosenwald dished out 36 assists and added nine digs and a block, and classmate Cam Miller led all players with 20 digs.
North Allegheny saw two players reach double-figures in kills with sophomore outside hitter Will Robertson tallying 15 and classmate Brendan Moore netting 11. Robertson connected at a .214 rate and collected 11 digs for a double-double, while Moore was at a .242 hitting percentage. Senior setter Nicolas Carioto recorded a double-double with 15 assists and 10 digs and added three service aces, and classmate Will Hahn collected 11 digs.
Shaler started the tournament with a bye before defeating ninth-seeded Hempfield Area and fifth-seeded Seneca Valley by identical 3-0 scores to make its second straight title tilt. North Allegheny also won a pair of 3-0 matches versus seventh-seeded Canon-McMillan and third-seeded Butler after a first-round bye. Seneca Valley topped Butler, 3-1, in the third-place consolation match to claim the final PIAA spot.
Shaler will open the PIAA Championships against the District III fourth-place team, North Allegheny travels to the District III runner-up, and Seneca Valley will get the champion from either District VI, District VIII, or District X. The Tigers the only school of the three to previously win a PIAA title, doing so a league-high nine times (1979, 1987, 1991, 1999, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022).
CLASS 2A RECAP
Top-seeded Mars kept its unbeaten record intact in the Class 2A final, sweeping sixth-seeded Armstrong in three sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) to win its first WPIAL boys’ volleyball championship last Friday night.
Mars (20-0, 10-0 Section II) was dominant in its third meeting against Section II foe Armstrong (11-9, 5-5 Section II), hitting at a .236 clip as a team compared to the Riverhawks’ .093 mark. The Fightin’ Planets collected 6.0 team blocks and three service aces.
Mars junior outside hitter Derek Piatek paced the field with 14 kills and 16.0 points, converting at a .375 clip with nine digs and two solo blocks. Senior middle blocker Ryan Ceh had a .600 hitting percentage with 13 kills, six digs, and a solo block, and junior setter Kyler Robinson dished out 29 assists with an ace. Another two seniors, Colton Riska and Tyler Raabe, collected 11 digs each, with Raabe adding five kills and an ace.
Armstrong senior outside hitter Nathan Rosenberger tallied a team-high 11 kills on a .233 hitting percentage with four digs. Junior outside hitter Brendan Savinda registered nine kills, eight digs, and an ace. Fellow juniors Sam Dosch and Rafe Hankey recorded 12 assists apiece in a setter rotation, and Dosch added 11 digs for a double-double.
After a first-round bye, Mars picked up wins against eighth-seeded Gateway (3-1) and fourth-seeded Ambridge (3-2) to make the championship match. Armstrong claimed 3-0 wins over 11th-seeded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and third-seeded Derry in the first two rounds, then topped 10th-seeded Thomas Jefferson (3-2) in the semifinals. Ambridge was a 3-2 winner over Thomas Jefferson in the third-place consolation match to claim the final PIAA spot.
Mars begins the PIAA Championships against the District X runner-up, Armstrong travels to the District X champion, and Ambridge will get the champion from either District VI or District IX. The Bridgers are the only school of the three to have a PIAA trophy in their records, as they won the Class 2A crown in 2009.
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