For The First Time in Two Years: Boys Volleyball Team Wins Section Game

Canon-McMillan’s Jace MacDonald finally listened to his coach on Thursday night.

And because he did, MacDonald’s Big Macs accomplished something that they had been unable to do in two years — win a WPIAL AAA Section 1 volleyball game.

beat Mt. Lebanon in four games (22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22), as middle hitter Quarry Trest led the way with 16 kills and setter Anthony Bevec racked up 23 assists for the Big Macs. It was the team’s first section win since 2009, and their second since 2005.

And it was the advice that MacDonald got from Canon-McMillan Assistant Coach Stephanie Woodruff that may have made the difference against the Blue Devils.

“[Mt. Lebanon’s] serve receive was a deep U shape. That gave us a doughnut in the middle,” Woodruff said. “I told [MacDonald] to serve them short or make them move. Hit the doughnut.”

Which is exactly what MacDonald did.

After trading wins in the first two games of the match, the Big Macs (1-1, 1-1) found themselves losing momentum midway through game three, and were down 16-14 before MacDonald stepped to the line to serve.

And that’s when Woodruff’s advice kicked in. Spotting that hole in the Mt. Lebanon (0-2, 0-1) defense, MacDonald began playing with the Blue Devils. First he went after the short gap, and then, when Mt. Lebanon adjusted, he went deep.

MacDonald — who finished the match with 11 kills, three aces and two blocks— found a chink in the Blue Devils armor more often than not, and Canon-McMillan went on an 8-0 tear to regain the lead 21-17, and eventually take the third game 25-19.

“I think it was just the spirit,” MacDonald said. “We’ve never been that excited out there. We had good passes and good sets. We just got everything fundamentally sound.”

Well, maybe not everything.

The Big Macs were up 3-1 in games headed into the fourth but, with occasional serving and bumping problems, had difficulty putting Mt. Lebanon away. It was reminiscent of last season, when the Blue Devils rallied late to steal a match from Canon-McMillan. And once again, the Big Macs’ fragile self-confidence was being tested.

The two teams played each other neck-and-neck throughout the fourth game — tying the score seven times before Bevec came up to serve, and led Canon-McMillan on a 4-0 stretch that had his team knocking at the door, 24-21. Bevec then promptly placed his fifth serve right into the net to add a bit more drama to the game at 24-22.

The theatrics were cut short, however, when MacDonald put the game away on the next lay, slamming a spike off a Mt. Lebanon defender for the 25-22 final.

“Their style of play is extremely scrappy,” Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Switala said of the Big Macs. “There’s nothing complicated about their system. They are very, very hard to play against because they are scrappy. They just don’t give up.”

Canon-McMillan head coach Gary Woodruff certainly hopes that statement remains true for his team.

Woodruff would like to see his team ride the wave of their newfound momentum into this weekend’s round-robin tournament at North Hills. The Big Macs will be in a pool with Butler, South Park, Pine Richland and Hopewell, and will kick off their tournament games at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

“This was good. They finally came together like I thought they could. I think this is a good confidence booster for the rest of our season,” Gary Woodruff said. “Maybe now they can see it in themselves rather than their coach just telling them.

He added: "A little taste will go a long way with them.”