2025 PIAA Girls Volleyball AAA State Championship
By Ken Wunderley
Pope John Paul II joined an exclusive club with its 3-0 sweep of Oakland Catholic in the PIAA Class 3A title match, held Nov. 15 at Cumberland Valley High School.
The Panthers became the fourth school in PIAA history to win consecutive titles in four or more seasons.
"It's pretty special to join such an exclusive club," Pope John Paul II coach Ryan Sell said. "It's amazing what the girls have accomplished over the past four years."
Norwin, North Allegheny, and Merion Mercy are the other three schools that have won four or more consecutive PIAA titles.
* Norwin won eight consecutive Class 3A titles from 1976 to 1983. The Knights won a total of 12 titles in 14 years.
* North Allegheny tied Norwin's record with eight consecutive Class 4A titles from 2017 to 2024.
* Merion Mercy won four consecutive titles from 2007 to 2010.
Pope John Paul II made the threesome a foursome with its fourth consecutive win against a District 7 (WPIAL) opponent in the finals.
The streak began in 2022 with Pope John Paul's 3-2 win against North Catholic. The Panthers faced Hampton in 2023 and posted a 3-1 victory. The three-peat came last year's 3-1 win against Mars.
Pope John Paul earned its fourth championship trophy with its sweep of Oakland Catholic, but the match was much closer than the score indicates.
"Oakland Catholic gave us a lot of issues," Sell said. "It seemed like we were playing from behind the whole match."
That was evident in the first and second sets.
Oakland Catholic led 6-3, 15-12, and 16-13 in the first set, but Pope John Paul battled back to tie the set at 18-18, then took a 24-22 lead. Oakland Catholic tied the set at 24-24, but Pope John Paul scored the next two points to pull out a 26-24 win. Senior middle hitter Norah Busch had eight kills, including the final point.
"We battled all night," Potts said. "We had every opportunity to win the first two sets, but came up short in both."
Oakland Catholic got off to a great start in the second set by jumping out to a 19-9 advantage. Unfortunately, the Eagles could not hold the lead. Pope John Paul scored 17 of the next 22 points to record another 26-24 win.
"I think that our energy and just the drive that we wanted to win was the reason why we were able to come back," said Panthers senior outside hitter Ava Maloney. "Because we just all had so much fire in us that we wanted to win so badly. I mean, everyone expects us to win, but it’s not easy, right? And I feel like that was just, we just have to prove that we can’t lose."
Oakland Catholic also had a lead of 10-6 early in the third set, but Pope John Paul II fought back to take an 11-10 lead and never trailed again. The Panthers pulled out a 25-18 victory to clinch the match.
"We were still a little deflated from the second set," Potts said. "It was just too much to come back from. We just made too many hitting and serving errors. But I am still very proud of our performance."
Pope John Paul (23-2) qualified for the state tournament by winning the District 1 title. The Golden Panthers earned their title berth with wins against Carver Earth & Science, 3-0 in the first round; Bethlehem Catholic, 3-0 in the quarterfinals; and Berwick, 3-1 in the semifinals.
Oakland Catholic (23-3) earned its PIAA berth by placing second in the WPIAL. The Eagles advanced to the finals with wins against Hollidaysburg, 3-0 in the first round; Greencastle-Antrim, 3-0 in the quarterfinals; and Beaver Area, 3-2 in the semifinals.
Pope John Paul was led by Busch, a North Carolina State recruit who recorded 21 kills and 10 digs. Freshman outside hitter Cailyn McTamney had 9 kills. Senior outside hitter Haley Maloney had eight kills, and her sister Ava had 7 kills and 11 digs.
"Senior year, coming into it, I knew what it took to get there, so it was less nerve-racking, I would say this year," said Busch. "But when we got here today, it was so unreal, it was my last time playing as a PJP volleyball player, and that really set in."
Pope John Paul went undefeated in its previous three state title runs, but had its 80-match win streak snapped early in the season with a five-set loss to Spring-Ford. In fact, all three of the Panthers' losses were to Spring-Ford, who won the PIAA Class 4A title.
Oakland Catholic was led by Josie Fontana, who had 14 kills.
"I'm really, really proud of my team," Oakland Catholic coach Jenna Potts said. "We went head-to-head with a three-time defending champion and gave them all they could handle."
Sell used 11 players in the title match, and only four were seniors. Busch received her fourth gold medal. She started in the PIAA semifinals as a freshman, but did not see playing time in the title match.
"Our four seniors played a big part in our last two titles," Sell said. "We have a nice group of girls coming back and some young players coming up, so we should be pretty good."
Oakland Catholic has rebuilding to do as the Eagles lose eight of the 11 players who saw action in the title match.
"I'm so proud of the seniors, and the whole team, for leading us to a historic season," Potts said. "Tonight, we battled, and there’s so much to be happy about."