Player of the year Molly Robertson leads

Post-Gazette 2024 All-Area volleyball team

KEN WUNDERLEY

Tri-State Sports & News Service

NOV 20, 2024

1:41 PM

Robertson is one of six players chosen for the Post-Gazette's All-Area team. Below are the other five members of the All-Area team:

Ashlyn Black, Greensburg Central Catholic (5-9, Jr., RH)

Black led the Centurions to WPIAL and PIAA titles in Class 1A. She has not picked a college yet. She is a two-time WPIAL All-Star, first team both times. Her season stats were 396 kills, .405 hitting percentage, 65 serving aces, 165 digs and 24 blocks.

Natalie Carr, Canon-McMillan (5-11, Jr., OH)

Carr led the Big Macs to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. She is a three-time WPIAL All-Star, twice on the first team and second team as a freshman. For the season, she had 253 kills, .322 hitting percentage, 165 digs, 21 blocks and 31 serving aces. It's her second time on the All-Area team. Carr has not picked a college yet.

Sienna Cozza, North Catholic (5-10, Sr., S)

Cozza was a three-year starter and four-year letterman who committed to North Carolina. She is a two-time WPIAL All-Star, first team this year and second team as a junior. Her season stats were 98 kills, 41 blocks, 206 digs, 32 serving aces and 678 assists.

Isabelle Hoppe, Pine-Richland (5-8, Jr., S/RH)

Hoppe, ranked one of the top juniors in the country, has committed to Pitt. She is a three-time first-team WPIAL Class 4A All-Star who missed the last five matches of the season with a back injury. This season, she recorded 121 kills, 261 assists, 17½ blocks, 135 digs and 31 serving aces. She also had a .372 hitting percentage.

Molly MacDonald, Quaker Valley (5-11, Sr., OH)

MacDonald is a four-year starter who has been recognized twice on the WPIAL Class 2A All-Star team, second team as a junior and first team this year. For the season, she had 384 kills, .319 hitting percentage, 209 digs and 43 serving aces. She has committed to Middlebury College in Vermont.

First Published: November 20, 2024, 1:41 p.m.

Quaker Valley's Molly MacDonald (No. 8) helped the Quakers win their first WPIAL girls volleyball title.(Ken Wunderley/For the Post-Gazette)

MOLLY MacDONALD

Quaker Valley

Recently: Quaker Valley won its first WPIAL girls volleyball title with a 3-0 sweep of Hopewell in the Class 2A title match Saturday at Peters Township. The Quakers were the only champ to record four 3-0 sweeps in the playoffs. MacDonald had 23 kills and 14 digs in the semifinals, then registered 17 kills and 13 digs in the title match. She had a .309 hitting percentage in the two matches combined.

Check this out: MacDonald, a 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter, is a four-year starter who was recognized on the second team of the WPIAL Class 2A All-Star team last year. For the season, MacDonald has 348 kills, 193 digs, 43 serving aces and a .338 hitting percentage. Besides volleyball, MacDonald started a nonprofit organization as a school project two years ago. Brazos de Bienvenida (Welcoming Arms) works with other nonprofits to provide clothing, food and household items to underserved residents in Ambridge, specifically the Hispanic and Brazilian residents who relocated to the Pittsburgh area.

When did you start playing volleyball, and who introduced you to the sport? In seventh grade, my mom forced me to start playing club volleyball with Pitt Elite. My older sisters played volleyball in high school when we lived in Altoona. I didn't think I would like it, but now I love playing volleyball.

How tough was it losing in the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals the last two years? It wasn't great. We lost to the WPIAL champ both years, then lost to them again in the state tournament. That gave us motivation coming into this season.

Did you think this team was capable of winning a WPIAL title when the season began? In the preseason, I wasn't sure how good we would be but knew that Freeport and Beaver had moved up to Class 3A.

What does it mean to be part of the first girls volleyball team at Quaker Valley to win a WPIAL title? It's really exciting to be part of it. It's such a great accomplishment. It's great to finish my career as a champion.

When did you find out that Quaker Valley's girls soccer team won their WPIAL title Saturday? They played at 11 a.m., and we played at 1 p.m. When we were warming up, one of the mothers told us they had won. It was very exciting to hear that, especially because one of my closest friends [Mia Modrovich] plays on the soccer team. Their title was motivation for us. It was great that we won the same day.

Give us your thoughts on the upcoming state tournament. I'm really excited because we are hosting in the first round for the first time. We want to take it a step further this year and get past the quarterfinals and hopefully make it to the finals.

Are you planning to continue your athletic career in college? I've committed to Middlebury College in Vermont. They play in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. One of the schools in our conference is Amherst. My brother, Alex, goes to Amherst and throws the discus and shot put for the track team.

Have you chosen a college major? I want to major in business and economics. Middlebury has a double major of math and economics. That will set me up for the future.

Is there an athlete you look up to as a role model? I always looked up to my sister, Kenzie. She played ice hockey at Amherst.

— By Ken Wunderley

First Published: November 4, 2024, 1:05 p.m.

Quakers lost in semifinals past two seasons, but are rolling in 2024

KEN WUNDERLEY

Tri-State Sports & News Service

SEP 24, 2024

2:43 PM

So close, but not close enough.

The Quaker Valley girls volleyball team has advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals the past two years but had the misfortune of facing the eventual champion. Last year, it was Beaver. In 2022, it was Freeport.

It was only the second and third time the Quakers had made it that far in the WPIAL playoffs, which was an accomplishment in itself. But coach Mike Vavrek and his five returning starters want more.

The Quakers entered the 2024 season with the goal of making their first appearance in the WPIAL finals and bringing home the first championship trophy in school history. So far, it seems like a realistic goal.

Quaker Valley opened the season ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by the Post-Gazette and moved up to No. 1 after the first week of competition. The Quakers have held the top spot ever since and hope to claim the top seed in the WPIAL playoffs, which begin less than a month from now (on Oct. 21).

“We are hoping to be the team nobody can beat and finally bring home a WPIAL title,” Vavrek said. “We have the talent required to reach that goal. We just have to get better every day and stay healthy.

“We deserve to be ranked Number 1. I don’t mind having that bullseye on our chest. As long as we are No. 1 at the end.”

Quaker Valley actually opened its season with a loss. The Quakers dropped a 3-1 decision to Beaver in a rematch of last year’s semifinals. But Quaker Valley does not have to worry about the Bobcats this year, as Beaver moved up to Class 3A in the WPIAL’s biennial realignment. Freeport, last year’s WPIAL runner-up, also moved up to Class 3A.

“With Beaver and Freeport moving up to Class 3A, the Class 2A title is up for grabs,” said Vavrek, in his 14th year at Quaker Valley and 20th overall.

Quaker Valley has won six consecutive matches, losing only one set, since its season opening setback against Beaver. The Quakers enter Tuesday’s match against Northgate with a 6-0 record in Section 1. Vavrek’s squad begins the second half of section play Thursday against No. 2 ranked Hopewell.

Quaker Valley’s lineup features two players who were recognized on the WPIAL all-star team last year. Senior setter Vanessa Pickett was voted to the first team, while senior outside hitter Molly MacDonald was a second-team selection. Pickett was also recognized on the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association all-state team.

“Vanessa and Molly are four-year starters,” Vavrek said. “Vanessa has more than 1,000 assists in match play and Molly has more than 500 kills. Both have provided great senior leadership along with our other returning starters.”

Quaker Valley’s other three returning starters are: senior outside hitter Nora Hammond, senior libero Carmen Forsythe, and junior middle hitter Mia Gartley.