Twenty-five teams qualified for the WPIAL boys' volleyball tournament, which started last night, but seven have this week off.

Twelve teams are entered in the Class AAA bracket, which means the top four seeds received byes. The Class AA bracket has 13 entries, due to a tie in Section 3-AA, which means the top three seeds received byes.

Norwin and Penn Hills are two of the four teams in Class AAA that received byes. The Knights claimed the Section 3-AAA title with an 11-1 record, while Penn Hills finished second with a 10-2 mark.

"I like the idea of being one of the top seeds, but I am concerned about the long layoff," Norwin coach Al Warden said. "We've been playing really well the past two weeks and now all of a sudden we have to sit for a week. I've got to keep them motivated this week in practice."

But it's not as much of a disadvantage when considering injuries.

"Cody Schropp [a junior outside hitter] and Michael Schmidt [a senior libero] could use a break," Warden said. "Cody has been nursing a back problem, while Michael has been bothered by thumb and hip injuries. Both have played through their injuries. Having a week off can only help them."

Penn Hills coach Dan Brown also has mixed feelings on the one-week layoff.

"We started out with a 2-2 record in the section, but finished with eight consecutive wins," Brown said. "We've been playing very well, so I am concerned about losing a little bit of the momentum we picked up the past three weeks."

Brown also realizes that the time off will help outside hitter Will Piccolino.

"Will has been battling [mononucleosis]," Brown said. "He didn't play much this week. The time off will certainly help him."

North Allegheny is the top seed in the Class AAA bracket. The Tigers are defending WPIAL champions and have won four of the past five titles.

"North Allegheny is clearly the strongest team in the WPIAL," Brown said. "They are the defending champions and most of the starters from that team were underclassmen."

North Allegheny can be beaten. Penn Hills proved that by defeating North Allegheny in a one-game playoff in the quarterfinals of the Central York tournament.

Bethel Park is seeded second, while Norwin and Penn Hills are No. 3 and No. 4.

"We faced Norwin three times during the season and won seven of the nine games," Brown said. "They beat us 3-2 in our first match of the season. We faced them twice in the second half and won both times."

Penn Hills recorded a 3-0 sweep in its Section 3-AAA rematch, then recorded two more wins in pool play at the Plum tournament. The Indians second-half performance did not convince the WPIAL volleyball steering committee to seed Penn Hills in front of Norwin.

"We were missing our top two middle hitters when we faced Penn Hills at the Plum tournament," Warden said. "We deserve to be the No. 3 seed because we won the section title. Seeding means very little, however, when you get to the playoffs. You have to beat everybody to win the title."

Plum, Penn-Trafford and Central Catholic also qualified for the Class AAA bracket. Plum finished third in Section 3-AAA with a 9-3 record, while Penn-Trafford placed fourth with a 6-6 mark. Central Catholic earned its berth by placing second in Section 1-AAA with a 7-3 record.

"North Allegheny may be the favorite, but Penn Hills and Bethel Park proved they can be beaten," said Central Catholic coach Kris Scigliano, also referring to Bethel Park's 25-22 win against the Tigers in the semifinals of the Plum tournament. "There are quite a few teams that have a legitimate shot of winning the title."

In Class AA, Latrobe and Derry Area qualified for the WPIAL tournament. Latrobe won the Section 3-AA title with a 10-0 record, while Derry and Thomas Jefferson tied for second place with 7-3 records.