2025 PIAA Girls Volleyball AAAA State Championship

By Ken Wunderley

It was a night to remember for the Spring-Ford High School girls volleyball team and senior outside hitter Lila Olsen.

Spring-Ford claimed its first PIAA title with a 3-1 victory over Pine-Richland in the Class 4A title match, held Saturday, Nov. 15 at Cumberland Valley High School.

Fans were treated to an impressive hitting performance by Olsen, who recorded 35 kills, 5 blocks, 2 digs, 1 ace, and 1 assist

"I've seen a lot of PIAA championship matches, and I've never seen anybody have 35 kills," said Parkland coach Mike Krause, who also serves as a color commentator on the Pennsylvania Cable Network's live-stream of the PIAA finals. "The most I ever saw was 33. That was quite a performance by Lila Olsen."

Olsen was joined on Spring-Ford's front line by sophomore outside hitter Elle Sossong, who had 18 kills, 7 digs, and 2 aces.

"The film we saw didn't do justice to how high their outsides jumped," Pine-Richland coach Angela Seman said. "Olsen was hitting over the top of us. She has a really fast arm and sees blocks well. She was getting over our blocks."

Spring-Ford coach George Fuller is glad to have Olsen on his team.

"It's great to have a dominant hitter like Lila," said Fuller of Olson, who finishes her career as career kills leader. "She doesn't want to be stopped. Her impact on the game is incredible. It was her best match of the season."

Fuller was also impressed with the play of Pine-Richland's Isabelle Hoppe, a Pitt recruit who led the Rams with 13 kills, a .414 hitting percentage, and 20 assists.

"I can see why Hoppe is one of the top recruits in the country," Fuller said. "She is a very intelligent player. You don't see many players who can make quick decisions like Hoppe. Her impact on the game is very disruptive."

Pine-Richland opened the match with a hard-fought 28-26 win, despite 12 kills from Olsen. Pine-Richland was led by Piper Vogel and Valerie Menke w,ho combined for nine kills.

"The girls still had last year's loss to [North Allegheny] in the back of their mind during the first set," said Fuller, referring to last year's loss in the title match. "We missed six serves and had six unforced errors. Fortunately, we settled down and played much better in the second set."

Olsen added eight more kills in the second set as Spring-Ford took charge with a 25-10 blowout.

The third set was much closer. Pine-Richland held a lead of 17-16, but fell short in a 25-21 loss. Olsen had nine kills.

"All season long, the girls were very composed and never panicked," Fuller said. "So it didn't bother them when we lost the first set."

Sossong took charge in the fourth set by recording seven kills as Spring-Ford registered a 25-14 victory to claim their first PIAA title.

"We had three police cars and six or seven fire trucks meet us, at 11 p.m., and escort us to the high school," Fuller said. "It was quite a reception."

Spring-Ford finished the season as the only unbeaten team in the state at 30-0. Spring-Ford won the District 1 title and earned its title berth with wins against Upper Dublin, 3-1 in the first round; Emmaus, 3-0 in the quarterfinals; and Bishop Shanahan, 3-1 in the semifinals.

It's the second straight appearance in the title match for Spring-Ford, as it lost to North Allegheny in the 2024 final.

Pine-Richland (16-7) placed second in the WPIAL and earned its title berth with wins against State College, 3-0 in the first round; Garnet Valley, 3-0 in the quarterfinals, and Unionville, 3-1 in the semifinals.

Pine-Richland was making its third appearance in the PIAA finals and first since 2005.

Vogel, a junior outside hitter, led Pine-Richland with 15 kills and had a .324 hitting percentage. Senior opposite Valerie Menke had 9 kills, and junior setter Avery Daugherty had 19 assists.

"We put up a good battle," Pine-Richland coach Angela Seman said. "We competed for every point. It's just that they got points faster than we did."

Spring-Ford junior setter Marley Angelucci dished out 52 assists, 4 digs, 2 kills, and 1 ace. Senior libero Alanna Bricker had 19 digs, 2 assists, and 1 ace.

Fuller used nine players in the title match, and only three were seniors.

"It's not a big senior class, but some big shoes to fill," Fuller said. "We have a good group coming back and some good kids coming up who should contribute. We have enough talent to be competitive."

Seman used 11 players in the title match, including five seniors. Hoppe will be the toughest to replace.