Shaler entered with a game plan and executed it with precision, scoring 14 of the first 15 points of the first set and continuing to pressure Obama Academy throughout the match.
This pressure was essential in the win, as the Titans overpowered Obama Academy in a 3-0 sweep (25-7, 25-11, 25-6) in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A boys volleyball championships Tuesday at Shaler.
An aspect key to Shaler’s victory was its superior ball control. The winners of four straight WPIAL championships were more accurate with their attack due to making better passes, which set up their hitters to do damage early and often.
“Obama’s an unfamiliar team to us,” Shaler coach Paul Stadelman said. “We really haven’t seen them all season anywhere, and we didn’t really get a chance to play them at any point. … But I think our game plan was really when you’re not familiar with a team, control your half of the net, right? If you control your defense, you control the touches, then you’re controlling the court.”
In addition to controlling its half of the net, Shaler (16-1) dominated battles above it. Junior middle blocker Brandon Aryee had three blocks, and sophomore setter Trevor Planz added another two as part of Shaler’s seven blocks.
“Our guys in the front row are pretty big and pretty experienced, and they’re pretty aggressive. If you watch them, we do attack other teams,” Stadelman said. “We don’t want to say offense is our theme because we like to think we’re a defensive team and a good blocking team, but tonight I think we had some mismatches in size. We had some mismatches across the net from us that we were able to take advantage of.”
Planz also led the offense’s playmaking, finishing with 23 assists.
Shaler hit an excellent .667 as a team for the match, with Aryee and junior middle blocker Richard O’Brien leading the Titan attack. Aryee was a perfect 9 for 9 on kills, and O’Brien also got a kill every time he was set, finishing with four.
“Got to give it all to the middles and the setter for being decisive,” senior right side hitter Adam Hoffman said. “The middle opens it up.”
The Titans also had 11 total aces.
“I told them at the beginning of the season, ‘Whoever wins first touch is going to win,’ and I would say Shaler won first touch, second touch and third touch,” Obama Academy coach Peter Vitti said.
Vitti coached some Shaler players who played for North United Volleyball Club.
“They were good back in middle school, and now they’re fantastic. The thing is with Shaler, Paul and Jon (Ramsey) and their assistant coaches produce great volleyball players, great all-around players, so every one of their kids can do every skill,” Vitti said. “And so, it’s hard to put a ball on the floor, so balls during the season that my guys were hitting that would go down, Shaler gets up, and it gets a little bit demoralizing.”
Obama Academy hung around longer in the second set as the City League champions were better able to handle Shaler’s serves, even leading after the first couple of points. But Shaler cleaned up its play and raced out to a 14-5 lead before Obama Academy called its first timeout.
Following the timeout, the Eagles played their best volleyball of the match, cutting Shaler’s lead to 19-11, but they could not string enough points together to make the second set close by the time the Titans got to 25 points.
“In that first set, Shaler played pretty much flawless, and in the second set, they made some mistakes,” Vitti said. “But what I tell my guys is like, ‘You have to put pressure on the other team, or they’re not going to make mistakes,’ And we didn’t put any pressure on them in the first set at all. Second set, we got a few more swings, and you can force teams into some mistakes also.”
Obama Academy’s third set start appeared to be its best at first. The Eagles stayed with the Titans 5-5, but that score did not last. After Shaler scored a point to seemingly take a 6-5 lead, Obama Academy was found to have been out of rotation for the previous three points.
“My guys made a premature libero switch, way premature, like two rotations premature. And, my libero goes back to serve, and boy, I don’t know, the volleyball gods weren’t with us because he goes back and it’s the best (serves) we had the entire match, ran off two to three aces and (three) points,” Vitti said. “And I knew they were out of rotation, but at that point, it didn’t matter. You’re going to lose all of those points. … We lost those points, which was (a momentum) killer.”
As a result, following about a three-minute conference to confirm that the Eagles were out of rotation, the officials reset the score of the third set to 6-2 Shaler. That outcome threw off Obama Academy’s confidence, and the Eagles could not regain it.
Shaler won 19 of the next 23 points to close out the win.
“It’s tough, the WPIAL layoff. We’ve had 13 days since our last playoff game, when we played in the WPIAL championship game. So it’s a matter of just keeping the guys disciplined and focused at practice, coming out tonight and making sure you take care of business, which is important to take care of business in this one,” Stadelman said. “Now we’re looking forward. We’re looking on to the next opponent.”
Shaler advanced to face Meadville on Saturday in a battle between volleyball powerhouses in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals.
“I’m happy with the boys. They played great; they’re a good squad. We’re excited about their potential moving forward in the next couple matches,” Stadelman said. “We know Meadville is a great team, well-coached. They’re the defending state runner-up. … That’s going to be a tough test for us, but we want to give them a good shot. We want to give them our best.”