When meeting the Kissell sisters, be prepared to be consumed by "love."

Greater Latrobe's Joelle and Stacia Kissell both blazed through the Section 1-AAA girls' tennis singles tournament without dropping a game to advance to meet each other in the final, where Joelle, a senior, beat her younger sister two years her junior, by a score of -- you guessed it -- 6-0, 6-0, in the championship match.

That scenario played out last season, too -- with the slight exception that Joelle dropped a mere two games during a semifinal victory.

That means that during the past two seasons, in 20 combined sets in which the Kissell sisters have played in the section tournament, 19 of them have ended without the loser winning a game (10-0 in the pro-set format during the first two rounds and 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals and finals).

That's a lot of love.

"It's so much fun to play when your sister is in the same tournament and doing so well, too," Joelle said.

Both Kissell sisters will take their shot at a higher level of competition tomorrow and Friday at the WPIAL Class AAA singles tournament, which will take place tomorrow and Friday at Norwin with the championship and consolation matches on Friday.

Joelle is the defending tournament champion and has advanced to the semifinals during each of her three previous seasons of high school tennis. She teamed with Allie Seranko to win the WPIAL and PIAA doubles titles as a freshman. Joelle is currently ranked No. 5 by the USTA among those 18 and under in its Middle States region that covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and parts of West Virginia.

Last season, Kissell placed third in the PIAA singles tournament. The top two finishers in the WPIAL qualify for the PIAA championships, which are next month in Hershey.

Count Latrobe coach Jon Mains among those who believe Joelle Kissell will be making a return trip to the Land of Chocolate.

"I think she's playing the best tennis I have seen in the four years she's been with the team," Mains said. "This summer, she worked with her sister, Michaela, on her game. She works so hard.

"I think she's got everything going for her right now. If she can go out and execute, she certainly has the shots and has the talent to make it to states again."

Michaela Kissell won three WPIAL and PIAA singles titles before graduating and playing at the University of Miami and Marshall University. Joelle kept up the family tradition with her pair of WPIAL tennis titles, and Stacia has a chance to do her part, too. (Incidentally, the Kissell family tennis dominance doesn't even end there -- younger brother Chad is in seventh grade at Latrobe Middle School).

Stacia is ranked No. 43 in Middle States. She qualified for both the WPIAL singles and doubles tournaments last season as a freshman. Although the competition at the WPIAL singles tournament this week is of extremely high-caliber -- starting, of course, with her sister -- she does have the talent to make a run.

"Stacia has come a long way, too, since last year," Mains said. "She got the experience losing in the first round last year, but she was up against an excellent player [Upper St. Clair's Claudia Escribens], and I'm sure Stacia was nervous as a freshman in the WPIAL tournament.

"I think if Stacia can go in relaxed and play her 'A' game, who knows? We will see what happens."

"I'd never count Stacia out," Joelle said. "She's feisty, and she's a little stronger than last season. She will try her best, I know that."

As a team, the Wildcats likewise have an opportunity to make a WPIAL tournament run. Latrobe was midway through a possible second consecutive undefeated Section 1-AAA season heading into the week.

An experienced team, Latrobe's depth is almost as impressive as the strength of its top players. Senior Julia DeFabo plays third singles, seniors Ali Morelli and Hannah Meyer occupy the first doubles spot and juniors Katelyn Hill and Regina Woloshun play second doubles.

The Wildcats were a WPIAL quarterfinalist last season.

"We just want to go as far as we can go," Joelle Kissell said. "All the girls are just so nice and we all get along and they all work so hard practicing. I'm excited to see what we can do in the playoffs."