Published: November 10, 2009 12:26 am      

PIAA Volleyball Preview: Confident Colts begin title quest

Northern Cambria’s volleyball team shouldn’t have any confidence problems heading into the first round of the PIAA championships tonight.

The Colts are not only the top-ranked Class A team in the state, but they beat West Branch, which was ranked second last week, to win a sixth consecutive District 6 championship on Saturday.

“That’s definitely important,” Northern Cambria coach Mike Hogan said. “You don’t worry about the rankings, but it’s important when you overcome a situation like that and come out on top. We’ve done that several times this year.”

One reason the Colts (21-0) are ranked first in the state is because they own wins over teams like State College and Altoona, so playing District 7 third-place finisher Jefferson-Morgan shouldn’t be intimidating. The fact that Northern Cambria’s 6 p.m. match will be nearby at Central Cambria High School also plays into the Colts’ favor.

“We’ve been fortunate to be there in the past,” Hogan said of playing in Ebensburg. “Our school was buzzing a little bit about everybody going up there. It makes me proud to see the kids buy into it, and it’s good to know there are a lot of people backing us and supporting us. It’s an exciting time. As a teacher, it makes it fun. The atmosphere is fun and enjoyable, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Hogan said that his scouting report on Jefferson-Morgan is incomplete.

“I really don’t know a lot about them,” Hogan said. “I know they have a good middle hitter, a bigger girl that’s about 6-feet tall. I still have some more information coming (today). They run a good middle attack. It’s a real slow, high ball in the middle.”

That kind of attack means that middle hitters Janae Dunchack and Shawna Serafin will have to alter their games.

“It’s a different blocking style,” Hogan said. “Janae and Shawna, my two middles, have been blocking well all season. I think the key will be to keep some ball pressure on them. We have to keep the tempo up on our side.”

North Star vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at Windber 7 p.m.: The No. 2 ranked team in the state will also be in action locally tonight.

North Star, which won its sixth consecutive District 5 title last week, has moved up two spots in the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

Coach Tony Crisafulli’s team put forth its best effort of the season in the district title match, a three-game sweep of Windber.

“That’s the best we’ve played this season,” he said. “I still think there is a little bit more left in us. I think we’ve done a decent job, at least to this point. I take nothing away from the game we played against Windber, but we have to maintain that level. We can’t let down. We can’t have lapses.”

Crisafulli saw Greensburg Central Catholic’s loss to West Shamokin in the District 7 championship last week and knows his team will have to play well to advance to pool play in the PIAA tournament at York.

“They’re a decent team. If you made it to the District 7 championship, you have to have a quality team,” he said. “They’re strong on the outside. They hit the ball well from the outside, they block well from the middle. They have a nice team.”

The Cougars are led by Emily Lohr, who was named Somerset County’s MVP. Karen Schmidt and Chelsea Danel were named to the all-county first team along with Lohr while Stefanie Miller was picked to the second team. Anna Greeley was an honorable-mention selection.

Crisafulli is expecting a big crowd tonight.

“That’s one of the things we’re looking for is our fan support,” he said. “They’ve supported us all year long and traveled with us. There have been conflicts at times with other sporting events, but our base of our fan support has always been there. We appreciate everything they do for us.”