This is the 90th anniversary of the PIAA boys volleyball playoffs.
Westinghouse of the City League won the first four and five of the first six boys volleyball state championships, including a sweep of Titusville in the 1936 title match.
Nobody has dominated boys volleyball on the state level quite like North Allegheny.
Following a record 24th WPIAL championship two weeks ago, the Tigers take aim at their 10th PIAA boys volleyball crown.
The first round of the state playoffs is Tuesday and North Allegheny (13-0) hosts the No. 5 seed out of District 3 in Central York (13-4) at 5 p.m.
NA won five of its nine state titles in a 10-year period from 2o13-2022.
However, the Tigers have not won PIAA gold the last three postseasons, including a year ago when they fell to Cumberland Valley in three sets.
There are five other state openers Tuesday involving District 7 teams:
Class 3A
Seneca Valley (13-5) visits District 6 champion State College (10-4) at 4:30 p.m.
WPIAL runner-up Butler (16-5) battles District 3 runner-up Dallastown (18-2) at 5 p.m.
Class 2A
City League winner Obama Academy visits WPIAL champ Shaler (15-1) at 6 p.m.
Seton LaSalle (21-1) travels to District 10 champion Meadville (17-0) at 6 p.m.
WPIAL runner-up South Fayette (18-1) is at District 6 winner Martinsburg Central (9-3) at 6 p.m.
State lax openers
With apologies to The Who, for years, the PIAA lacrosse playoffs were a teenage wasteland for WPIAL schools.
Most years, it was one and done for the representative boys and girls lacrosse teams in the state playoffs in a sport that was much more refined in the eastern part of the commonwealth.
That started to change post-pandemic thanks to the district dominance of the boys and girls programs at Mars.
In 2021, the Fightin’ Planets boys lacrosse team became the first program from the WPIAL to play in a PIAA championship match, falling to Allentown Central Catholic, 14-5.
The Mars boys made history again the following spring by returning to the boys 2A state lacrosse finals, this time beating Marple Newtown, 9-6.
Mars lost to Marple Newtown in the 2023 and 2024 finals as well before the Fightin’ Planets’ state title game appearance streak ended a four last spring.
Will Mars or another WPIAL school go for a nice two-week ride through the state lacrosse brackets this spring?
Here are the 12 boys and girls opening round matches Tuesday involving teams from District 7:
Boys 3A
New Oxford (15-5) at Shady Side Academy (13-7), 6 p.m.
Pine-Richland (12-8) at State College (18-2), 4 p.m.
Mt. Lebanon (17-2) at Manheim Township (16-0), 6 p.m.
Boys 2A
Cocalico (14-6) at Mars (15-4), 5 p.m.
South Fayette (16-5) vs. Cathedral Prep (10-7) at Hagerty Family Events Center, 4 p.m.
Hampton (16-5) at Lampeter-Strasburg (20-2), 5 p.m.
Girls 3A
Cumberland Valley (19-2) vs. Mt. Lebanon (17-2) at Shady Side Academy, 4 p.m.
Pine-Richland (17-4) at State College (11-6), 2 p.m.
Fox Chapel (14-3) at Manheim Township (14-2), 4 p.m.
Girls 2A
Susquehannock (16-2) at Mars (20-1), 3 p.m.
Quaker Valley (16-3) at Bellefonte (7-9), 4 p.m.
South Fayette (13-7) at Wyomissing (20-1), 4 p.m.
Tuesday on Trib HSSN
There is one broadcast you can listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the second day of June.
PIAA Boys Volleyball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 3A First Round: Central York at North Allegheny at 5 p.m. on the North Allegheny Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com