Close, but not close enough.

That sums up the weekend for the North Allegheny High School girls' volleyball team at the PIAA championships held at Central York High School.

The Tigers advanced to the PIAA Class AAA title match for the first time since winning three consecutive titles from 1992-94. But it wasn't meant to be, as North Allegheny dropped a five-game match to defending champion Allentown Central Catholic.

"It was a great weekend," North Allegheny coach Dan Schall said. "We finished [tied for] third last year, and second this year. It was disappoiting to lose in the championship match, but the girls have a lot to be proud of. We played well enough to win the title, but Allentown Central had an almost perfect weekend."

North Allegheny earned its third consecutive PIAA berth by winning the WPIAL title. Allentown Central Catholic earned its berth by claiming the District 11 title.

"Allentown Central was ranked No. 1 in the state," Schall said. "Everybody expected them to win again. We gave them a run for their money, but came up short."

North Allegheny faced City League champion Schenley in the first round Nov. 4 and recorded a three-game sweep, 25-14, 25-7, 25-12. WPIAL runner-up Pine-Richland also posted a victory in the first round, beating District 10 champion Erie McDowell, 25-18, 25-15, 25-17.

Those victories earned North Allegheny and Pine-Richland a berth in last Friday's quarterfinal round robin at Central York.

North Allegheny won two of three matches in Pool B to earn a spot in the semifinals, but Pine-Richland lost all three matches.

North Allegheny opened the quarterfinal round robin with a 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 win against District 1 runner-up Unionville.

"The first match is so important, because you have to win two of three [matches] to make it to the semifinals," Schall said. "Last year, we lost to Susquehannock in the first match. That forced us to win the next two to move on. There's a lot less pressure when you win that first match."

North Allegheny's second round-robin match was against District 3 runner-up Penn Manor. The Tigers dropped the first game, 25-16, but rallied to win the next two by identical scores of 25-21.

"The win against Penn Manor assured us a spot in the semifinals," Schall said. "It also gave us a test run against Allentown Central Catholic."

Allentown Central Catholic needed only three games to dispose of North Allegheny, as it posted victories of 25-17, 28-26, and 25-13.

"That match gave us an opportunity to see what Allentown Central had to offer," Schall said. "And it didn't matter that we lost, because we both advanced to the semifinals."

North Allegheny faced District 3 fourth-place finisher Garden Spot in the semifinals. The Tigers lost the first game, 25-18, but rallied to win the next two, 25-22, 25-11. Garden Spot rebounded with a 25-21 win in game four, but North Allegheny claimed the fifth and deciding game, 15-13.

"We played Avon Grove in the PIAA quarterfinal round robin last year and beat them two of three games," Schall said. "They were much improved this year."

That set up the rematch with Allentown Central Catholic for the title.

"We made a few adjustments after watching the tape of the first match," Schall said. "Allentown also made a few changes. They made a few slight changes to their serving strategy, and to their blocking and defense."

Allentown Central Catholic claimed the first game, 25-23, but North Allegheny won the next two by scores of 25-20 and 25-22.

"Midway through the fourth game, Allentown Central had a run of great serves," Schall said. "We unraveled at that point. The momentum they picked up in that game carried over to the fifth game."

Allentown Central dominated game four, 25-10, then closed out the match victory with a 15-11 decision in game five.

"This is a senior-laden team," Schall said. "We lose 10 players from this team to graduation. We have only four players who saw significant playing time coming back."

Pine-Richland faced Garden Spot in its first quarterfinal round-robin match and was defeated, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25. The Rams then faced District 3 champion Hempfield and were beaten, 25-20, 25-19, 25-14. Pine-Richland's final match was against Avon Grove. The Rams lost 25-23, 25-18, 16-25.