The Fox Chapel High School boys' volleyball team captured its first WPIAL title with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Ambridge last night before a crowd of more than 1,000 at La Roche College.

"We have won 10 of our last 11 matches that went to five games, dating back to last season," said Fox Chapel coach Phil O'Keeffe. "And I think it's nine in a row. When we went to the fifth game, I felt pretty confident."

Fox Chapel was making its first appearance in a WPIAL title match. The Foxes placed third last year. Ambridge was making its third WPIAL title appearance in five years. The Bridgers won in 2002, then placed second in '04 and now this season.

"This is my fourth year and their fourth year," said O'Keeffe. "My goal when I started was to win a WPIAL title and we achieved that. Our next goal is to win a PIAA title."

In Game 1, Ambridge rallied from a 19-14 deficit to pull out a 25-22 victory. The Foxes evened the match by scoring nine of the last 12 points in a 25-19 victory.

Ambridge regained its advantage in Game 3 with a 25-18 victory, but Fox Chapel matched them in Game 4 with a 25-18 win. That left the match to a 15-point final game, which was appropriate since the teams were so evenly matched.

"There were two great teams on the court tonight and unfortunately one had to lose," said Ambridge coach Dennis Damp. "Fox Chapel played a great match, but I'm also very proud of my kids."

Fox Chapel jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fifth game. Ambridge fought back to cut the deficit to 11-9, but the Foxes scored four of the next six points to pull out the victory, 15-11.

"We had a tough time stopping Nick Rivett," said Damp, referring to Fox Chapel's senior outside hitter, who was named the WPIAL's Most Valuable Player in a ceremony before the championship match.

Rivett led the Foxes with 29 kills, while senior middle hitter Eric Caplan chipped in with nine.

In the consolation final, Norwin earned its third consecutive PIAA berth with a 3-1 victory against Hempfield. The matchup was the third of the season, after splitting their regular-season encounters.