Gladiators looking to build off record-breaking 2020 season
By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR.
MVI Sports
South Allegheny High School athletics as a whole have made tremendous strides and have achieved levels not seen in school history.
One of those programs is the Gladiator volleyball program which finished second in their section a year ago, had six players make the section teams and one make the WPIAL second team. All these accomplishments were firsts for the program and have made the arrow point up for expectations in 2021.
“We had the best season in South Allegheny volleyball history and nobody was there to see it,” SA coach Jack Kelley said. “ We played in empty gyms and tournaments were canceled. The girls didn’t even get to hear their scores announced the next morning in school. What I want more than anything is for these girls to get the chance to show their friends and family what kind of team they have become. It looks different than it did two years ago.”
The optimism at South Allegheny (10-4, 9-2) is well warranted with the team returning four starters from the record setting 2020 team. Madison “Mad Dog” Pikula, Payton Limley and Paige Keller are back for their senior campaign joined by junior Angelina Cortazzo.
“Last year we unleashed Mad Dog on the volleyball court. She ended the season with 155 kills and was our best server,” Kelley said. “She’s also quite good defensively so I don’t think she ever left the court. She was voted first team all section and second team All WPIAL Class 2A. And, I hear she’s even better at softball.”
Limley and Keller were third team all section performers last season.
“Payton is the kind of player that you don’t realize how good she is until she’s off of the court and things don’t look quite as good. She reads the game well and makes difficult plays look easy,” Kelley said. “Paige was thrown into emergency middle hitter duty last season due to injuries. She did a nice job for being very inexperienced at her position. This year, experience shouldn’t be a concern.”
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