The Thomas Jefferson girls volleyball team aced its test in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals Saturday at Slippery Rock High School.
The Jaguars recorded a season-high 19 serving aces in a 3-1 victory against Conneaut to earn their first semifinal berth. Serving specialists Alexa Albin and Emma Ratner each recorded five aces.
“Our serving was clearly the key to our victory,” Thomas Jefferson coach Ron Kelly said. “We had nine aces in the third set. Alexa and Emma came up big for us today on the serving line, while Delaney Concannon and Mia Fox controlled the front line.”
Concannon recorded 18 kills, while Fox contributed 11.
Thomas Jefferson (19-2), the WPIAL’s third-place finisher, won the first set 25-20. Conneaut (15-4), the District 10 champion, won the second set 25-22. The Jaguars clinched the match victory with wins of 25-14 and 25-19 in the final two sets.
Thomas Jefferson will face WPIAL champion North Catholic in Tuesday’s semifinals at a site to be determined. It will be a rematch of the WPIAL semifinals on Nov. 1.
“We get another shot at North Catholic,” Kelly said. “The girls are looking forward to the rematch. ”
More Class 3A
North Catholic 3, Hollidaysburg 1: The Trojans (21-1) earned a fourth consecutive trip to the semifinals with a 22-25, 25-16, 25-23, 26-24 win against District 6 champion Hollidaysburg (15-3) in a match played at Derry High School.
Class 4A
North Allegheny 3, Landisville Hempfield 1: The five-time defending PIAA champion Tigers (20-1) earned a sixth consecutive trip to the semifinals with a 25-12, 22-25, 25-14, 25-16 win against the Black Knights (18-2) in a match played at Altoona High School. Hempfield, the District 3 champ, had four starters out with the flu. North Allegheny, the WPIAL runner-up, will face WPIAL champion Pine-Richland in the semifinals.
Pine-Richland 3, Unionville 2: Pine-Richland earned its first semifinal berth since 2011 with a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Unionville, the District 1 runner-up, in the second match of the doubleheader at Altoona. Unionville won the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-22. Pine-Richland claimed the final three sets, 25-19, 25-22, and 17-15. Kaili Doctor led the Rams with 27 kills, while Katie Yanni recorded 16 kills.
Class 2A
Freeport 3, Quaker Valley 0: Freeport (20-2), the WPIAL champion, advanced to the PIAA semifinals for the fourth time in five years with a 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 sweep of Quaker Valley, the WPIAL third-place finisher, in a match at North Allegheny High School. Josie Russo led Freeport with 10 kills, while Sydney Selker had eight. The Yellow Jackets will face District 6 champion Philipsburg-Osceola in the semifinals.
Philipsburg-Osceola 3, Shenango 0: The Wildcats (17-3) saw their season come to an end with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-20 loss to the Mounties (19-1) at St. Marys High School. Philipsburg-Osceola earned it third consecutive trip to the semifinals.
First Published: November 13, 2022, 12:07 a.m.
