With a potent front line returning that is considered one of the best in Class 2A, Thomas Jefferson boys volleyball coach Frank Staffen had one main concern entering the 2022 season.

“We needed to find a setter,” Staffen said.

To fill that void, he spent the first week of the season using two players and two offensive schemes.

The players he chose were Ian Karel, a 5-11 senior, and Aaron DeNardo, a 6-0 sophomore.

“Ian was a utility player for us last year,” said Staffen, now in his 23rd year at the helm. “Aaron was our JV setter last year.

“I tried a 6-2 with both sharing the setting duties, and a 5-1 with each running the offense. Our best option at this point of the season is to use both in a 6-2. That gives me the option of switching to a 5-1 if one struggles in a key match.”

Thomas Jefferson’s front line features three returning starters who are 6 feet 5 or taller. The threesome is led by 6-6 senior outside/middle hitter Shawn McSwiggen, a Saint Vincent recruit who was voted to the PVCA all-state team last year.

The other two are 6-5 senior outside/middle hitter Adam Weidmann and 6-5 sophomore outside/middle hitter Will Stewart. Both were Class 2A Section 3 all-stars last year.

“There are not many, if any, teams in Class 2A that have the size we do on the front line,” Staffen said.

Thomas Jefferson opened the season at the Norwin tournament, then had two non-section matches against a pair of Class 3A opponents, Bethel Park and Latrobe.

“We had a 2-1 lead against Bethel Park and lost the last two sets, 30-28 and 15-13,” Staffen said. “The competition we faced the first week of the season helped prepare us for our section schedule.”

Thomas Jefferson opened its Section 3 schedule this week with a 3-0 sweep of Steel Valley on Monday and a 3-1 win against Keystone Oaks on Tuesday. The Jaguars play host to Bishop Canevin Thursday.

“Our matches against Seton LaSalle and Trinity will let us know where we stand in the section,” Staffen said. “They were the top two teams in the section last year.”

Thomas Jefferson will face Seton LaSalle on April 12 and Trinity on April 19. Both are road matches.

Canon-McMillan

Filling a vacancy at setter was also a concern of Canon-McMillan coach Sheila Mitchell.

“We had six starters returning, but none of them were setters, so that was our biggest concern,” Mitchell said.

To fill the void, Mitchell moved one of her returning starters, senior Logan Bui, from libero to setter. She also called on sophomore William O’Bryan.

“We ran a 6-2 offense last year and I wanted to stay with a two-setter offense,” said Mitchell, now in her eighth season as Big Macs coach. “It’s worked out very well. Both have done a fine job thus far.”

Canon-McMillan opened its Class 3A Section 1 schedule with a pair of wins against Upper St. Clair, 3-2, and Moon, 3-0. The Big Macs also posted a 3-2 win against Montour in a non-section match.

“Last year, we had only two seniors so this year’s team has a lot of varsity experience,” Mitchell said. “I’m very happy with the way we’ve played thus. Our goal is to win the section title.”

Canon-McMillan has a strong front line with senior Luke Fincham and sophomore Luke Bockius returning on left side, junior Owen Ostrowski back on the right side, and senior Riley King and junior Ben Fincham back in the middle.

“It’s great to have such an experienced front line back,” Mitchell said. “It’s not easy for an opponent to defend us.”

This week’s schedule has Canon-McMillan traveling to Pine-Richland on Wednesday for a non-section match and returning home Thursday for a section match against Baldwin.

Seneca Valley

Before the season began, Seneca Valley coach Brett Poirier pointed out that a key to this year’s squad was its depth. The Raiders depth was evident at Saturday’s Seneca Valley tournament.

“We lost our top hitter in the first match,” said Poirier, referring to Nathan DeGraaf, a 6-7 senior opposite who was voted to the PVCA Class 3A all-state team last year. “He pulled a muscle in his back. He should be fine, but we may keep him out for a few matches this week to be cautious.”

With DeGraaf out of the lineup, Poirier called on seniors Nathan Handrahan and Nicholas Semrau to fill the void the rest of the day and Seneca Valley went on to win the 11-team tournament.

“We have 11 seniors on this team. Depth played a big part in us winning the tournament,” Poirier said. “Nathan and Nicholas did a great job stepping in on the right side.”

Seneca Valley went undefeated in pool play then defeated Canon McMillan, 1-0, in the quarterfinal; Hopewell, 1-0, in the semifinals; and Norwin, 2-1, in the title match.

Derry tournament

The 12-team Derry tournament came down to a battle among North Allegheny, Shaler and Meadville.

All three teams posted a 4-0 record in the preliminary round-robin, then were placed into a second round-robin along with Penn-Trafford.

The three teams split their two-set matches to finish in a three-way tie. They met again in the playoff round and Meadville walked away with the title.

Meadville, last year’s PIAA Class 2A runner-up, is ranked No. 1 the state. North Allegheny is ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 3A and Shaler is No. 5.

TEAM RANKINGS

WPIAL Class 3A

1. North Allegheny

2. Seneca Valley

3. Norwin

4. Hempfield

5. Shaler

WPIAL Class 2A

1. O.L. Sacred Heart

2. North Catholic

3. Seton LaSalle

4. Hopewell

5. Ambridge

First Published: April 6, 2022, 7:00 p.m.