By Lisa Byers
May 14, 2009 — The hard work of District 10 volleyball coaches and officials has finally paid off.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association announced that District 10 has been awarded a second berth to the PIAA Class AA boys volleyball state championship tournament scheduled to begin May 26.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Maplewood coach Sheila Bancroft said. “It is overdue, definitely. It gives everyone a second chance to get out and it strengthens the state tournament in the regional round.”
Coming into this year, the start of a new two-year cycle, District 6 and 10 had the same number of teams, which prompted the PIAA to give District 6 two berths to the state tournament this year and District 10 two berths in 2010. However, prior to the start of the season, District 6 saw a number of its teams drop the sport, giving it four teams to District 10’s eight.
That prompted District 10 officials, including District 10 Chairman and former PIAA president Wally Blucas, coaches and parents to make some calls to the PIAA. After some review and cooperation from District 6, the PIAA decided in fairness to award the second berth to District 10.
“In fairness, the spot belonged to District 10,” Blucas said. “When this first started District 10 and 6 had the same numbers, but due to budgetary cuts, lack of interest or whatever the case might be, District 6 lost some teams and those two spots weren’t justified. Fortunately, we were able to get it resolved.”
District 10 has been pleading its case for a second berth for years and with good reason, particularly over the last two years. The district had four of its eight Class AA teams ranked among the top 10 in the state by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association last season. Currently, five District 10 Class AA teams are ranked, including No. 1 Cambridge Springs.
This past weekend, District 10 finished first, second and third at the Mt. Lebanon Tournament with Cambridge Springs topping Cochranton, 25-20, in the final. Maplewood tied for third.
Cambridge Springs won the prestigious State College Invitational, while Maplewood, which won its pool, finished tied for third. The Spa also made the playoffs of the Koller Classic.
“The District 10 community is very involved in volleyball,” Bancroft said. “They want what’s fair for their child, so they got themselves involved. They made this whole thing move forward. I also compliment the PIAA for making the change. They’re not always willing to fix a mistake, so I commend them. I also thank District 6 for giving up the spot and not fighting it. It was one of those things that was justified and a lot of people helped make it happen.”
The District 10 champion will face the WPIAL third seed in the first round of the state tournament, while the District 10 runner-up will face the WPIAL champion.
