JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
I put together this preview capsule for the PIAA volleyball playoffs …
PIAA BOYS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
WHERE: Penn State University’s Ashenfelter Multisport Indoor Facility, near the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park. The tournament is usually held in Penn State’s Rec Hall, but that venue is under construction.
WHEN: Pool play on Friday in Double-A at 9 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 3:20 p.m., and in Triple-A at 10:50 a.m., 1:50 p.m. and 4:50 p.m. Double-A semifinals are Saturday at 9 a.m., followed by the championship match at 1 p.m. Triple-A semifinals are Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by the championship match at 3 p.m. You can find the full brackets here.
LOCAL CONTINGENT: Nine-time state champ Hempfield is in Pool B in Triple-A, and Garden Spot, in States for the first time, is in Pool B in Double-A.
TRIPLE-A NOTES: Hempfield is the two-time defending state champ. The Black Knights topped Pennsbury in last year’s finale. … Hempfield’s nine titles are tied with Haverford for the most in PIAA playoff history. … Hempfield won the Section 1 championship before winning its 15th L-L League title this season. The Knights fell to Cumberland Valley in the District 3 Triple-A championship match. … Hempfield knocked off District 1 champ Kensington 3-0 in a first-round match Tuesday. Ohio State recruit Shawn Sangrey had 18 kills in the state opener, that on the heels of a 44-kill effort against Cumberland Valley in the district final. … Hempfield will be joined in Pool B by District 7 champ North Allegheny, District 1 champ Pennsbury and District 1 third-place finisher Souderton. … Pool A includes District 3 champ Cumberland Valley, District 11 runner-up Emmaus, District 3 third-place finisher Central York, and District 7 third-place finisher Penn Hills. … North Allegheny is the top-ranked Triple-A team in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Hempfield is ranked fifth.
DOUBLE-A NOTES: Garden Spot topped District 2 runner-up Holy Redeemer in a first-round match on Tuesday. This is the Spartans’ first trip to States. … Garden Spot finished second in the Section 2 race and reached the L-L League semifinals before falling to Eastern York in the District 3 Double-A title match. … Garden Spot is led by a trio of hitters — Dan Smucker, Goran Skinder and Dean Wanner. … The Spartans will be joined in Pool B by District 1 champ Ambridge, District 10 champ Saegertown and District 2 third-place finisher Wilkes-Barre Coughlin. … Pool A features District 3 champ Eastern York, District 7 runner-up Greater Latrobe, District 3 third-place finisher Northern York and District 3 fourth-place finisher Wyomissing. … Ambridge is the top-ranked Double-A team in the PVCA poll. … Exeter topped Northeastern in last year’s Double-A state finale.
QUOTABLE: Hempfield coach Mike Vogel — “If you would have told me back at the start of the season that we’d have a chance to win the state title again, I might not have believed you. I thought we might be able to get back to States, but maybe not win it again. But here we are. And anything can happen.”
Garden Spot coach Scott Garman — “We know we have a strong team. Now it comes down to playing together as a strong team on a consistent basis. We feel like we can compete with anybody in the state. We haven’t really won anything yet, but we have a lot of pride, and that’s why we’ll keep pushing harder and harder when we get up there.”
