The North Allegheny boys volleyball team had not dropped a set in match play this season before its PIAA semifinal against Butler. That streak was in no danger of ending Tuesday.
North Allegheny continued its perfect season in its second-to-last match, sweeping Butler 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-16) in the semifinals of the PIAA Class 3A boys volleyball championship at Fox Chapel.
This victory was North Allegheny’s fourth over Butler this season, following two wins in section play and another in the WPIAL championship game.
“We have a lot of really capable guys. Not many teams have the weapons that we have all across the net. Usually, there is a situation where you can focus on this guy or these couple guys,” North Allegheny coach Dan Long said. “Every game that we have, taking a swing is somebody that is a legitimate threat to put the ball away, so I think teams have their hands full in that regard, and it’s a credit to our depth. It’s a credit to just our ability to spread the ball around.”
North Allegheny, playing in the PIAA finals for the 21st time in program history, will face Landisville Hempfield (19-1) for the state championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Penn State’s Rec Hall.
North Allegheny (16-0) began the first set determined, using a 7-1 outburst to build a commanding lead, which led Butler to call a timeout. The Tigers added another three points to reach a 10-1 advantage and had little difficulty controlling the set.
“I think that the biggest thing that stands out to me was how we started,” senior first-team all-WPIAL outside hitter Brendan Moore said. “We had a 10-1 lead at the start (due) to Elliot (Swierczynski), our setter, and Will (Robertson), our other outside hitter. Both went on two great service runs, and that really helped us get out to a good lead and build momentum to start the match.”
Butler (18-6) struggled throughout the first set in net battles, as the Tigers scored on several driven kills in their dominant first set win.
Butler played better for the rest of the first set, closing the gap to 15-7 with a Jacob Proudfoot kill, but could not threaten the lead.
“Just to be here says a lot. It was a long road to get to this point. … What else can you say, other than the fact that every week we’ve improved something?” longtime Butler coach Lew Liparulo said. “We ran into a wall here, but overall, the kids did a good job.”
In the second set, sophomore Brett Schnur delivered a pinpoint kill to the far left corner to give Butler an early lead, but North Allegheny responded with four straight points, including a blazing Robertson ace, to jump out in front 4-1.
Robertson, a senior and two-time first-team all-WPIAL selection, was on point throughout the game and especially the second set, making kills early and often to guide North Allegheny to victory.
“He’s been an important guy for us for a long time, and big matches tend to bring out big performances from him,” Long said. “And so it’s no surprise he has been a full-time starter for us for four years; that doesn’t happen at NA. And yeah, I thought he was excellent tonight. … It felt like any time he took a swing, he was finding fingertips or finding the floor. Just really smart play from him, and add on the passing, the defense, the blocking, those other pieces.”
Butler played much better in the second set, and both teams struggled with service errors early on, leading to a competitive, back-and-forth stretch. But North Allegheny returned to its first-set form and stretched its then-modest lead to 17-9 before the Golden Tornado called a timeout to regroup.
That timeout did not spark the turn of events that Butler wanted, as North Allegheny remained unfazed to take its second set.
A critical point in the third set looked to be an emphatic Nathan May kill after a long rally that made it 6-3 North Allegheny, but the Golden Tornado did not believe in momentum, holding the Tigers off until it was 12-9. Robertson led North Allegheny in scoring during that stretch, continuing his excellent play from the second set.
Butler, however, could not contain the Tigers forever. North Allegheny ran off four points in a row and kept the Golden Tornado from coming back to storm into the PIAA finals.
“They were not the typical configuration of Butler. They’re missing their top guy, which changed around where different guys were playing, and so I think that that made everything a little off-kilter for them from what they were used to,” Long said. “When we’ve played them in other situations, it’s been tighter, it’s been more of a back and forth, and we were able to create some separation.”
North Allegheny will try for its 10th state title Saturday.
“I thought we were really focused and living in the moment, and I was proud of that. And that’s going to be important for us,” Long said. “We understand that we haven’t dropped a set, but we play best-of-five for a reason. And on Saturday, we’re going to play an excellent opponent, (Hempfield), and we may drop a set.
“We may find a situation where our backs are against the wall, and I think that the steadiness, the resiliency that we’ve developed over many years, but this group has really gelled in that regard, I think that’s going to be a benefit to us.”