Quaker Valley's girls tennis team saw its 2024 season end in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals at the Hershey Racquet Club.
QV, this year's WPIAL runner-up, defeated District 9 champion Elk County Christian, 5-0, in the first round and District 3 winner Berks Catholic, 4-1, in the quarterfinals.
District 2 champion Scranton Prep beat the Quakers by a 3-0 score Oct. 26 in the semifinal round to improve to 20-2 overall.
Scranton Prep finished as the PIAA runner-up as District 1 titlist Lower Moreland won the PIAA championship in a 3-2 decision.
Quaker Valley's Lily Baker and Sewickley Academy's Katherine Varghese shared the girls spotlight Oct. 29 with game-winning goals in the WPIAL soccer playoffs.
Baker, a freshman defender/midfielder, scored the lone goal as No. 2 QV edged No. 7 Deer Lakes, 1-0, in the Class 2A quarterfinal round.
Varghese, a senior forward, did likewise to lift the fifth-seeded Panthers to a 1-0 win over No. 13 Aquinas Academy in the Class A quarterfinals.
Freshman goalkeeper Ava Hajok recorded the shutout for the 15-2-2 Quakers, who took an 11-game unbeaten streak and 14 shutouts into their semifinal game Oct. 29 against No. 6 North Catholic.
Senior Marie Bigi was the winning goalkeeper for Sewickley (13-3-1), which faced No. 1 Springdale on Oct. 29 in the semifinals.
The Panthers were riding a seven-game winning streak going into their game with NC. Six of the seven victories were shutouts.
1st-round wins
Ari Bosh, a junior midfielder, scored twice to spark Quaker Valley past No. 12 Southmoreland, 4-0, in the first round of the WPIAL girls soccer tournament.
Baker and sophomore F/D Rowan Wallace added a goal apiece.
At the start of the season, QV was seeking its first WPIAL girls soccer title since 1992 when it won the second of back-to-back championships.
Last year, the Quakers, as the No. 9 seed, fell to No. 1 Avonworth, 4-3, in the quarterfinals before the Antelopes went on to claim their third WPIAL title in a row.
Sewickley Academy also blanked No. 12 Riverside, 2-0, in its first-round playoff test behind goals by Eannarino and sophomore midfielder Mya Spadafore.
A tip of the cap goes out to several area soccer players for landing all-WPIAL accolades for the 2024 season.
They include Quaker Valley senior defender Mia Modrovich, sophomore midfielder Annabel Miko and Bosh. Three Sewickley Academy girls also were selected: Varghese, Bigi and Emma Eannarino, a sophomore midfielder.
Allie Emswiler, a sophomore defender at Eden Christian, was named all-WPIAL, as well.
Among the boys, QV senior forward Colin Benge and junior defender Tanner Shultz were named all-WPIAL, as was Sewickley Academy's Finn Wentz, a junior midfielder.
Eden Christian's senior midfielder Cole King also was honored as a WPIAL all-star.
Volleyball victory
Top-seeded Quaker Valley swept No. 8 Ellwood City in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball playoffs by scores of 25-15, 25-21, 25-18.
The Quakers, who improved to 16-2, clashed with No. 5 Southmoreland Oct. 29 in the semifinal round.