Canon-McMillan headed to WPIAL final
PITTSBURGH – Members of the Canon-McMillan girls volleyball remind each other to have a “goldfish memory” during matches.
A goldfish can only hold so much memory, which is key in a sport where emotions are as up and down as a roller coaster.
The “goldfish memory” worked for the Big Macs in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Seneca Valley in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs at Fox Chapel High School.
“The girls found something out about the goldfish only holding so much memory and have used it,” Canon-McMillan coach Sheila Mitchell said. “They said, ‘Be a goldfish and forget it.'”
The Big Macs (15-3) won by scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-21 to avenge a five-set loss to the Raiders (12-4) early in the season.
“When we played them the first time, we were still a young team … and we weren’t as comfortable with each other as we are now. We improved so much since that game,” Canon-McMillanlibero Julia Murdy said. “It is a dream come true to get the opportunity to play for a WPIAL title.”
Canon-McMillan will play North Allegheny in Saturday’s final at Peters Township. The match is scheduled for 5 p.m.
North Allegheny swept Pine-Richland 3-0 in the semifinals.
“I think one of the things that got us in the last game was that they have a good serving team, and we didn’t have the best serve-receive game,” Mitchell said. “We practiced for that this game, and we knew some of their tendencies and what they were going to go for, and we were ready for that. We had big contributions from our girls in front, Lillian Thornbury, Emily Lukasewicz and Abby Tucker, and our setter, Olivia Gross, had a strong game. Natalie Carr shows a lot of poise as a sophomore and the moment is never too big for her.”
The Big Macs assured themselves of a spot in the state playoffs.
“We are excited for our seniors because they will get at least two more matches,” Mitchell said. “We definitely want to win a WPIAL title before they graduate.”
Canon-McMillan won the WPIAL title in 2019 at Fox Chapel.
“We have some luck here (Fox Chapel) and we hope to have that luck carry over to Peters Township,” Mitchell said. “We have good support from the community.”
Canon-McMillan built an 18-8 lead in the first set that prompted Seneca Valley coach Brett Poirier to take his second timeout and final timeout of the set. The Big Macs increased their advantage to 19-8 before the Raiders went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 19-17.
Seneca Valley tied the score at 23-23 and Mitchell took her second timeout. Canon-McMillan went up 24-23 and had serve for set point, but the Raiders for a tie and had serve for the lead, but the Big Macs won the next two points to take the set.
“We just focus on winning one point at a time,” Canon-McMillan senior Emily Lukasewicz said.
Poirier believed losing the first set took away the momentum from his team.
“I was hoping for a tighter match tonight, but it wasn’t meant to be,” Poirier said. “They are a good team, and I thought the WPIAL did a good job in the seeding because the top four teams made it to the semifinals. We just didn’t have a good night hitting.”
Canon-McMillan’s net presence was key in winning the match as Lukasewicz, Tucker and Thornbury blocked Seneca Valley’s hitters from getting into a rhythm.
The Big Macs used an 11-4 run in the second set for a 13-8 lead. Canon-McMillan didn’t let the Raiders get back into the set before finishing it off after Seneca Valley hit a ball out on an attack.
The Raiders had a 21-19 lead in the third set and Mitchell took a timeout. The Big Macs won the next six points to clinch the match.