by Randy Gore

Appearing in the WPIAL championship for an eighth consecutive season, and 32nd time overall, the North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team was looking for its first district title since 2022, when the Tigers earned a thrilling 3-2 win over Seneca Valley. After finishing as runners-up in Class 3A the last two seasons to Shaler, North Allegheny once again faced off against section rival Seneca Valley on Saturday at AHN Arena and emerged victorious, this time by a 3-1 decision. It was North Allegheny’s 23rd District 7 crown, far and away the most of any WPIAL school in the sport.

The Raiders, who were making their fifth WPIAL championship title match appearance, and first since losing to the Tigers in 2022, were eying their first-ever WPIAL championship. Hungry for a title, Seneca Valley stormed out of the gates in the first set and rode the hot hand of senior middle hitter Jordan Hoover to a convincing 25-17 win. Hoover totaled four of his team-high 17 kills in the opening set.

North Allegheny flipped the script in the second set and completely dominated Seneca Valley to the tune of a 25-15 win. Senior Garen White continued his torrid post-season play with three kills in a well-balanced set for the Tigers.

With the match tied at 1-1, the critical third set weighed in the balance with the score deadlocked, 19-19. Thanks in part to three blocks from White, the Tigers claimed six of the final seven points to earn a 25-20 victory. Geneva College commit Matthew LaMay, who finished with a game-high five aces, posted three in set three and capped the game from the service line.

Just one set away from a championship, North Allegheny overcame an early 6-3 deficit in set four and rolled to a 25-18 victory to secure WPIAL gold. In the decisive set, junior outside hitter Will Robertson punished the Raiders with a bombardment of big swings, belting out seven of his team-leading 17 kills. Adding seven digs and four blocks, Robertson was a consistent figure for the Tigers throughout the afternoon and was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Match.

In a complete team performance, a host of Tigers contributed to the victory. Junior Brendan Moore tallied 10 kills and senior Eli Braun totaled nine kills to help pace the offense. Setters Jackson Failla and Elliott Swierczynski dished out 25 and 16 assists, respectively. On defense, junior libero Emmett Morris delivered a team-best 17 digs. Senior Dominic Laswell provided a spark with his opportunity in the middle and delivered a team-leading five blocks. Moore, Robertson and White all totaled four blocks each.

The win, North Allegheny’s 10th in a row, improves the Tigers’ record to 15-1 overall, while Seneca Valley falls to 14-4. The Tigers will open the state playoffs at home on Tuesday, June 3, against the fifth-place finisher in District 3. The contest will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Volleyball Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 5-24-25

235 high school seniors earned diplomas this weekend across four graduation ceremonies in Routt County. 

Yampa Valley High School
Per tradition, the Yampa Valley High School commencement ceremony took place at the Yampa River Botanic Park on Friday, beginning a new journey for the school’s 10 graduating seniors. 

During the commencement, Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic, Marne Smith, gave an address to the students. Graduates Raven McLaughlin and Charlie Tegtmeyer also stepped to the lectern to address their classmates during the ceremony. 

Some of the school’s graduates will be furthering their education at the collegiate level with others interested in learning trades and will enter the workforce. 

School principal Kristyl Boies said students at Yampa Valley High School took advantage of a large number of internships offered by local community partners, got a taste of college by taking classes at Colorado Mountain College and found career opportunities through technical education programs that introduced students to their career path after graduation.

Hayden High School
Hayden School District staff described the Tigers’ Class of 2025 as a distinctive group of individuals who remained closely connected while also charting individual paths. 

The class completed a combined 154 college-level credits through concurrent enrollment and on Friday night, 18 seniors received diplomas during the school’s graduation ceremony in the gymnasium. 

The class’s integration with the broader community of Hayden stood out as a defining trait to the district staff. 

“They challenged everything,” said Katherine George, senior seminar instructor and capstone advisor. “Even if life is hard, and even if you have to work harder than you expected, you should follow your heart, your passions and your dreams, no matter where they lead you.” 

Steamboat Springs High School
With 186 seniors graduating Saturday morning at Gardner Field, the Steamboat Springs High School Class of 2025 includes students who have committed to attend universities across the nation — running from Dartmouth to Stanford. 

Graduates Jack Fisher and Hanna Hale were selected as student speakers at the graduation. Both Fisher and Hale will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder this fall. 

Brian Ripley, head coach of the 2024-25 Sailors ice hockey state championship team, gave the honorary presentation. He discussed the lessons learned from a state championship team and reminded the class to live by the set of values they find most important. 

Principal Jay Hamric took to the lectern as well, addressing the students and reminding them of the mountains that surround the town. 

“Whether they are standing tall, bathing in sunshine and glory, or enshrouded in clouds, rain or snow, we always sense their presence and power,” Hamric said. “Seniors, as you travel the world and go to far off places, I hope you can always find a mountain to look up to and be reminded of the power and loving connection of your Steamboat community.” 

Soroco High School
Soroco High School valedictorians Tim Bedell and Ruby Hill were filled with excitement, anticipation and a hint of nostalgia as they stood in front of the Class of 2025 at the commencement ceremony in the school’s gymnasium. 

Soroco graduated 18 students Saturday morning, 12 of which will be moving on to post-secondary studies at institutions across the country and six opting to enter the workforce with skills they have obtained in high school. 

Delivering the commencement address on Saturday was 1996 graduate Chad Bedell, Tim’s father. Chad spoke about his disappointment of not making the pilot academy, but how it enabled him to find his passion as a rodeo cowboy. 

He told graduates to “persevere through all of the disappointments and setbacks that you will experience, (and to) stay the course and keep your focus on the end goal.”

Editors Note: Steamboat Mountain School will host its commencement ceremony on June 1. The school will see 19 seniors graduate from the Class of 2025.

Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn./Nashville Predators/University of Minnesota) opened the scoring for Team USA at 6:52 of the opening frame. He wristed a shot from that point that found the back of the net following an offensive-zone faceoff win from Pinto to give the U.S. the early lead.

A strong forecheck from Pinto and Will Smith (Lexington, Mass./San Jose Sharks/Boston College) forced a Swedish turnover that led to a chance for Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz./Anaheim Ducks/Boston College) to double the U.S. lead with 5:40 left in the first, but his chance was denied by Swedish netminder Jacob Markström.

Gauthier capitalized on another Swedish turnover generated by a strong presence in the offensive zone, as he forced a puck through Markström’s five-hole following shots from Pinto and Smith at 17:13.

U.S. netminder Jeremy Swayman (Anchorage, Alaska/Boston Bruins/University of Maine) made a stellar save with 10:56 remaining in the second to keep the U.S. ahead by two when he sprawled across the crease to deny a Swedish opportunity just in front of the net. Swayman finished with 27 saves to pick up his sixth win of the tournament.

Team USA extended its lead to 3-0 at 11:07, as Conor Garland (Scituate, Mass./Vancouver Canucks) powered home a rebound chance after a one-timer from Logan Cooley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Utah Mammoth/University of Minnesota).

Mikey Eyssimont (Littleton, Colo./Seattle Kraken/St. Cloud State University) added to the U.S. lead at 17:03 when he fired a wrister past Markström after a cross-ice pass from Matty Beniers (Hingham, Mass./Seattle Kraken/University of Michigan).

William Nylander put Sweden on the board at 6:32 of the third on a shot from just in front of Swayman’s crease. Elias Lindholm scored 42 seconds later on a one-timer from the slot to put the hosts to within two, resulting in a U.S. timeout.

Jackson LaCombe (Eden Prairie, Minn./Anaheim Ducks/University of Minnesota) responded with a goal at 11:09 firing a shot over Swedish goalie Samuel Ersson’s blocker to give the U.S. a 5-2 lead. Pinto added an empty-net goal from below his own goal-line at 15:53 to account for the 6-2 final.

The victory ended a 12-game losing streak in the men’s worlds semifinals and has the U.S. playing in its first gold-medal game in the event since 1934.

NOTES: Shane Pinto was named U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA was 0-1 on the power play, while Sweden finished 0-2 … Sweden outshot the U.S., 29-28 … Conor Garland, Frank Nazar and Logan Cooley were named the top three U.S. players of the tournament.

The Heels match-up with the Wildcats will air on ESPN with Jay Alter, Sheehan Stanwick Burch, Charlotte North and Dana Boyle on the call.

Game Info

Who: (1) Carolina vs. (3) Northwestern

Where: Foxborough, Mass. – Gillette Stadium

When: Sunday, May 25 – Noon

Links: ESPN | Live Stats | Tickets

Ten Things to Know

1. North Carolina has gone 45-22 over its 25 NCAA Tournaments. UNC has won three National Championships (2013, ’16, ’22), played in the title game six times and reached the semifinals 14 times, which is tied for the third most all-time. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time. They also entered the tourney as the top seed in 2021 and ’22.
2. UNC has won eight ACC Tournament titles and 11 ACC regular-season championships, including eight outright.
3. With a win, HC Jenny Levy would move into a tie for second in all-time DI wins with Princeton’s Chris Sailer at 433.
4. UNC is the only undefeated team in the country after snapping Boston College’s 21-game winning streak earlier this season and Florida’s 17-game streak on Friday. The Tar Heels current 21-game winning streak is the longest in the nation, 10 games ahead of Northwestern’s 11-game streak. The 21-game streak is the third longest in program history and the 21 wins are the second most in a season for Carolina.
5. Through 21 games, Carolina has outscored its opponents 372-143 (+229). The 372 goals are a single-season program record. Its 10.9 scoring margin per game ranks first nationally. UNC ranks first in both the ACC and NCAA in scoring offense at 17.7 goals per game.
6. Carolina’s defense has held opponents to 6.8 goals per game, which ranks first in both the ACC and NCAA. The team has only allowed four double-digit scoring efforts all year. UNC has kept its opponent scoreless in 18 quarters across 21 games, including the final three quarters of the NCAA Semifinal versus Florida.
7. Betty Nelson and Lexi Zenk have combined to give UNC a .509 save percentage, which ranks fourth in the country. Nelson’s 7.33 goals-against average ranks first nationally.  
8. The Humphrey sisters are the 12th and 13th Tewaaraton Award finalists in UNC history and Chloe is the first freshman to become a finalist for the women’s award. This is the third time UNC has had two finalists (2021: Moreno/Ortega | 2022: Ortega/Mastroianni).
9. Chloe Humphrey has scored 86 goals (4th NCAA) this season, setting a new NCAA record for goals by a freshman. She set a career high with seven goals vs. Florida and set a new UNC single-season record for goals, passing Jamie Ortega, who had 82 in 2021. Humphrey has scored at least five goals nine times this season and has tallied hat tricks in 17-of-21 games.
10. Ashley Humphrey has tallied 254 career assists between Stanford and UNC, setting a new NCAA record. Her 86 assists this season lead the country and set UNC’s single-season mark. Humphrey’s 117 points also set UNC’s single-season record and she’s currently third on UNC’s all-time assists list (124). Ashley’s 16 assists in three games of the NCAA Tournament are tied for the all-time record with Hannah Nielsen (NW, 4g, ’09) and Kenzie Kent (BC, 5g, ’17).

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