The 2025 girls volleyball team finished its season with a 13-4 overall record, and section title after going 10-0 in section play for the second year in a row.
Eight girls were given all-section recognition, and three were recognized on all-WPIAL teams.
Seniors Bella Hoffman, Octavia Dixon and juniors Aubrey Blank and Teagan Orga were given all-section first team honors. Senior Maddie Wilson and junior Sophie Spynda were given all-section second team honors. Seniors Addy Kolakowski and Jordyn Russel were given third team all-section.
Additionally, Blank was named first-team all-WPIAL and Orga was awarded second team all-WPIAL. Hoffman was awarded third team all-WPIAL.
“The girls worked so hard to show growth in different areas to come together as a team and make a well-rounded, competitive team each night,” coach Mrs. Annie Carter, who was awarded the Big 56 Coach of the Year, said.
The girls were also very proud of the accomplishments they made this season.
“It was really rewarding getting both all-section and WPIAL honors. It shows how hard we worked throughout the season as a team,” Hoffman said.
The team came together throughout the season, with some notable moments, including two tournament wins, the first at Butler and the second at State College. The girls said those wins were highlights for their season.
“That day we played for over 12 hours and played really competitive teams. We worked hard that day and it paid off when we beat the number 4 ranked team in the state, Hempfield, to win the tournament,” said Hoffman.
With a star-studded senior class Mrs. Carter was impressed with their leadership and roles they played on the team.
“We are graduating eight seniors and they will be missed. They played different roles and set great examples for underclassmen,” Mrs. Carter said.
As their season progressed the girls really took time to build better personal relationships, which helped them play better as a team.
“Everyone gets along and we’re all friends outside of volleyball which helps develop the team chemistry. The trust and bonds formed outside of practice really showed on the court which made our team play so much better together,” said Hoffman.
One aspect of the team building is an annual goal-setting meeting at the beginning of each season. Those goals set the precedent for the season and give the players something to work towards.
“Before the season, we had a team meeting discussing our goals. One was to win the section. We accomplished our first goal by not taking any games off. We stayed mentally tough and focused every game,” Hoffman said.
After winning the section for the second consecutive year, the girls entered the playoffs as an #8 seed and faced the #9 seed Penn Trafford. They secured a win in four sets.
“Our first round of playoffs went really well. We had good, focused practices that were beneficial to our first win against Penn Trafford,” Hoffman said.
Just a few days later, the season would come to an end when they faced the #1 seed North Allegheny in the second round. In a tough match the Titans lost the battle 3-1 against the Tigers. However, the girls did not see it as a purely sad end to their season.
“Altough the game didn’t go the way we wanted we played very well against North Allegheny. It was some of the best volleyball we have played. It was a bittersweet moment seeing how far we came from the beginning of the season,” Hoffman said.
