Bishop Shanahan comes close to state title, but falls short in third try vs. North Allegheny
MECHANICSBURG >> It would have been a perfect Cinderella story for Bishop Shanahan, which barely missed grabbing the brass ring in Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A girls volleyball state final.
The Eagles, who came into the state final with a perfect 24-0 record, had not lost a set in the postseason. The last hurdle they had to clear Saturday evening was a North Allegheny squad that had beaten them 3-0 in the state final each of the last two years.
The Eagles started strong Saturday, capturing the opening set, 25-19. After falling in the next two sets, 25-22 and 25-19, Shanahan stormed back with a dominating 25-12 victory in the fourth set and could almost taste the 4A state title after leading most of the way in the fifth set.
But North Allegheny (23-1) prevailed at the end, winning 16-14, giving the Eagles a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat in front of a large crowd of spirited Shanahan fans who packed the Cumberland Valley High School gym.
What made the loss particularly heartbreaking was that Shanahan (24-1) overcame so much this season, getting to the state title game despite losing three all-state players (and four Division I players) to graduation last spring.
“This has been an unbelievable season,” said Shanahan head coach Greg Ashman. “We graduated six starters [last spring], four of them going on to Division I volleyball, and there was no way anyone could have predicted that this season we’d be here in the fifth set of the state final. Our girls are so resilient, they wanted it so bad, they fought their lives out tonight, they really did.”
Senior standout outside hitter Cara Shultz, who will be playing volleyball for Yale next year, at times truly took over Saturday’s match, pounding away with numerous powerful kills that North Allegheny failed to return, and using her jump serve skillfully for a string of aces.
“Cara played amazing tonight,” said Ashman. “This loss really hurts me, for Cara, because she’s played so hard her entire four-year career. She was injured her sophomore year, and I’ve had to hang two silver medals on her, that hurts, it’s really hard to swallow.”
Shultz said, “Against all odds, nobody thought we’d make it to the state finals again. Our team has a bond unlike any other I’ve seen before. I truly believe I am at sister status with every girl on this team. I honestly could not be more proud of them because they have defined all odds by making it to this game again. I’m also proud of the coaches for never giving up on us. The one word I can use to describe our team is family.”
Shanahan’s squad came together late in the first set Saturday, rebounding from a 15-13 deficit, thanks to aces from Shultz and senior libero Grace Casagrande, and kills from junior outside hitter Brooke Burns and sophomore outside hitter Coco Shultz. The Eagles held a slender 19-18 lead, then a couple of Cara Shultz kills put Shanahan ahead 21-18, and North Allegheny got no closer in a 25-19 Eagles win.
In the second set, some skillful serving by Cara Shultz and a kill from junior middle blocker Bridgette Kelly gave Shanahan an early 5-2 lead. North Allegheny tied the score at 7-7, then Cara Shultz put the Eagles up 9-7 with a couple of kills.
At one point, Shanahan led the second set 14-10, but some fine play at the net from North Allegheny tied the score at 21-21. The Tigers prevailed after a few long volleys for a 25-22 victory to tie the match at 1-1.
In the third set, some strong hitting by North Allegheny junior outside hitter Paige Miller gave the Tigers a 14-8 lead. Despite a brief rally by Shanahan, capped by a Coco Shultz kill, the Eagles got no closer than four points behind for a 25-19 North Allegheny victory, putting the two-time defending champions ahead 2-1 in the match and just one set from their third consecutive state title.
With their backs to the wall, the Eagles came out with guns blazing in the fourth set, first building a 13-7 lead and then winning six straight points, five of them on Cara Shultz aces.
Senior setter Mia Caporellie, whose strong ball distribution was a powerful factor in Shanahan’s success Saturday evening, said, “I think our serving was the key in the fourth set, and we got smarter with our placement of the ball. Coming out hard and having a lot of energy really helped us in the fourth set.”
A couple of Coco Shultz kills gave the Eagles a 21-8 lead, and Shanahan finished it up for a 25-12 lead and plenty of momentum heading into the fifth set.
“Our serves, and our passing, picked up a lot in the fourth set,” said Ashman. “We were able to run our offense. When we run our offense, there’s not a team that can stop us.”
“In the fourth set, we just had to keep our foot on the gas,” said Cara Shultz. “We took the brake out of the car and just kept rolling with it. We knew that we couldn’t let up for a moment against North Allegheny.”
In the fifth set, the Eagles held the upper hand much of the time, grabbing a quick 3-0 lead that included a couple of powerful kills by Shultz. After North Allegheny tied the match at 5-5, Shanahan built a slender 9-7 advantage thanks to several strong hits by junior outside hitter Brooke Burns.
The Tigers roared back to tie the score at 9-9, then a well-placed hit in the far corner by Cara Shultz gave the Eagles a 10-9 lead. A few minutes later, the Yale-bound senior put the Eagles ahead 12-11 with a couple of kills.
A Shanahan serve that traveled out of bounds tied the score at 12-12, then after North Allegheny went ahead 13-12, a long volley was capped by a kill from Cara Shultz to tie it up at 13-13.
“In the fifth set, it kind of went back-and-forth for us a little bit, our passing was a little up-and-down,” said Ashman.
After another Eagle serve went out of bounds, Kelly tapped a winner over the net to tie the score at 14-14.
The Tigers won a back-and-forth battle at the net to go ahead 15-14. The Eagles, with their backs to the wall and the season on the line, made several hustling digs to keep the match alive, then after a seemingly endless volley, a perfectly-placed tap into the right corner by North Allegheny gave the Tigers a 16-14 victory and the state title.
Cara Shultz said, “North Allegheny is a great team, a terrific program. I wish we could have kept that three-point lead [early] in the fifth set, but we played at 110 percent tonight – we played our hardest. We came into this gym saying that if we could leave this gym giving all that we could, then we would be satisfied, and I believe that we did that to the best of our abilities.
“I would like to say that I would not want to lose a match any other way than 16-14 in the fifth set. That game out there tonight, that’s what volleyball is, both teams fighting for every single point, and it came down to the wire – and that’s what good volleyball looks like.”
For Ashman, it will be difficult to say good-bye to this special group of seniors.
“Our seniors really stepped up and took over the leadership this year, after we lost so many leaders [to graduation last spring],” said Ashman. “Mia Caporellie is like a daughter to me, she’s a tough one to let go, when she graduates, it’s going to be like one of my daughters graduating again, she’s a special kid. Grace Casagrande, for her to step into that role this season for a Division I player [last season], she just played phenomenal this season.”
Caporellie said, “No other team has a bond like we do; it’s not even a friendship, it’s like we’re sisters. We work so hard together and we play for each other, and I think that’s what got us so far this season. We even had former [Shanahan] players come here tonight. I’ll have these teammates for life.”
Casagrande said, “I knew that, no matter what the outcome of tonight’s game would be, that we would be a family, and for the past four years, I’ve found my best friends [here] and they really are like a second family. It’s a shame that the season is over, but I know my teammates will always be there for me, and that, no matter what, we’ll always be a family.”
