PIAA Girls’ Volleyball: Tri-Valley to take on Maplewood for Class A gold

Tri-Valley's players gather in a circle on the court prior to their match against Linville Hill in the PIAA Class A semifinal Tuesday at Cocalico High School. The Bulldogs, who perform this just prior to the first serve, will play for the PIAA Class A state championship Saturday against Maplewood. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

Faith. Family. Fearlessness.

Those are the pillars of the Tri-Valley girls’ volleyball team.

And those virtues have carried the Bulldogs to the pinnacle — the Class A final at the PIAA Girls’ Volleyball Championships. The District 11 champion Dawgs (24-1) will take on District 10 champion Maplewood (22-2) for the gold at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School. The Class A final is the first of four girls’ volleyball championship games Saturday at Cumberland Valley.

“Ultimately, it’s our last game together, so we have to give it everything that we’ve got and leave it all on the line because we have nothing to lose,” Tri-Valley coach Courtney Scheib said.

The Dawgs had to display all of their focus, fortitude — and fearlessness — to make their way to the state final. Tri-Valley opened states with a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over District 3 runner-up Ephrata Mennonite. The Dawgs followed with a 3-0 sweep of District 1 champion Faith Christian and overcame a third-set loss in a 3-1 victory over previously unbeaten Linville Hill in the semifinals.

After dropping a 25-4 third set to Linville Hill, the Dawgs said they prayed and reset their focus before the fourth set, which they won 25-20 to punch their ticket to Cumberland Valley.

Maplewood has had a relatively smooth path to the final, defeating District 7 runner-up Serra Catholic 25-17, 25-13, 25-18; District 7 third-place Frazier 22-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-19; and District 7 champion Eden Christian 25-14, 25-21, 25-20. Maplewood lost 3-1 to Warren on Aug. 26 and 3-2 to Corry on Sept. 9. The Tigers have won 20 straight since then.

Entering the week, Tri-Valley ranked No. 2 and Maplewood No. 3 in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association state poll. Linville Hill came in at No. 1 before falling to the Dawgs, while Eden Christian was No. 4.

Even before the state playoffs, Tri-Valley became battle-tested, defeating Pottsville 3-1 in the Schuylkill League semifinals and suffering its only loss of the season, a 3-0 defeat to Panther Valley in the Schuylkill League championship.

The District 11 playoffs tested Tri-Valley further. The Dawgs turned back Nativity 25-23, 15-25, 25-17, 27-25 in the semifinals, then outlasted Marian 25-27, 25-15, 26-28, 28-26, 15-10.

Look at all of those close, extended sets that featured ties at 24, 25 and 26. Tri-Valley dug deep time after time and sharpened that resolve to never give in, to trust their training and to keep swinging.

“We really focus on God and our energy and the way we pull ourselves together when we have to,” senior hitter Liv Lupole said. “And just being the team we know how to be and play.”

While Tri-Valley will be playing for its first state volleyball championship — the Dawgs had never been past the quarterfinals before — Maplewood has a long and storied history in state volleyball. The Tigers have won six state volleyball titles: 1985 (AA), 1992 (AA), 1995 (AA), 2005 (AA), 2017 (A) and 2022 (A). That means this year’s seniors would have been freshmen on the 2022 squad. Maplewood has also been state runner-up three times since the volleyball tournament began in 1974.

Tri-Valley’s other girls’ state championships have come in basketball — 2013 (A); and softball — 2021 (A) and 2023 (A).

Tri-Valley seeks to become the Schuylkill League’s first girls’ volleyball state champion since Marian in 2013. The Fillies also won in 2003 and were runner-up five times: 2005, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020. Nativity was a state runner-up in 2019.

Maplewood is located in Guys Mills, Crawford County, about 48 miles south of Erie. It’s a 4-and-half-hour trip from there to Cumberland Valley. Tri-Valley is located just over an hour drive from CV down Interstate 81.