The North Allegheny High School boys' volleyball team added another WPIAL championship trophy to its collection last night at LaRoche College.

The Tigers claimed their fifth WPIAL title in the past six years, and eleventh since 1985, with a 3-0 sweep of Bethel Park in the Class AAA title match.

"It's a standard that was set by Bob Miller," said North Allegheny coach Dan Schall, referring to the Tigers' former coach, who is a member of the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. "Everyone in this program wants to live up to that standard. They responded to the challenge tonight."

North Allegheny is closing in on the WPIAL record of 13 titles, held by Penn Hills. Defunct Homestead is the only other school with 10 or more titles, capturing 12 from 1944-63.

The Tigers (17-0) recorded their 17th consecutive 3-0 sweep.

"We have a 51-0 record in match play and an 87-8 record overall, including tournament play," said North Allegheny's John Skarupa, a 6-foot-8 senior middle hitter. "We just want to continue our winning ways in the state tournament."

The Tigers opened with an impressive, 25-18 win in the first game, but fell behind, 13-9, in the second before rallying.

"That's what I expected," said Schall. "Our guys were prepared for a battle, and that's just what Bethel Park gave us. They ran a quicker offense in game two. That was something we had to make a mid-game adjustment to. "

In the Class AA final, Ambridge claimed its second WPIAL title with a 3-1 win against Latrobe.

"They are a good group of kids who were really focused on winning the title," Ambridge coach Dennis Damp said.

The first game was a marathon, as Ambridge pulled out a 29-27 victory. Latrobe rallied from a 20-16 deficit in the second game to pull out a 25-23 win. Ambridge took charge in the third game and capped the title with wins of 25-21 and 25-12.

"It is disappointing to lose in the finals for the second straight year, but I'm very proud of these kids," Latrobe coach Drew Vosefski said.

The top three teams in each classification qualify for the PIAA championships, which begin Tuesday. Also advancing were Penn Hills and Hopewell.

Penn Hills earned its first berth in the Class AAA bracket since 1999 with a 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 win against Norwin in the third-place game.

Hopewell earned its first PIAA berth with a 16-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 15-10 win against Deer Lakes in the Class AA consolation final.