Northeastern wins PIAA Class AA boys' volleyball championship

The Northeastern boys' volleyball players could sense it. A state championship was close.

And when Tyler Toomey's final kill clipped the net and floated to the floor, handing the Bobcats a 25-20, 21-25, 25-12, 25-13 PIAA Class AA title game victory over Meadville, a canvas of orange-shirted players flooded the floor, index fingers raised in the air.

After years of contending, of getting close and falling short, Northeastern can once again call itself the state champion. The Bobcats celebrated their third PIAA title - and first since 1993 - Saturday in front of a throng of jubilant, orange-and-black-clad fans at Penn State's Multi-Sport Facility.

"I feel amazing," said Toomey, a junior hitter. "We wanted all three. We wanted counties, districts and states. That was our goal."

Consider that goal accomplished.

After splitting its first two games with District 10's Meadville - the top-ranked team in the state by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association - the Bobcats trampled the Bulldogs in the remainder of the contest. Northeastern never trailed during the final two games.

Toomey, who came off the bench to slam 14 crucial kills, hammered home the clinching hit off a Nic Shoemaker assist. A year ago, Toomey took the last swing during Northeastern's state semifinal loss to Maplewood.

"I said, 'One year from now, you're going to take the last swing,' " Northeastern coach Matt Wilson recalled. "And it happened. I knew he was going to take that last swing for the win."

Northeastern became the second YAIAA school to win a PIAA team title this scholastic season, joining the York Suburban boys' cross country team, which won a Class AA crown. The Bobcats are the first area team to celebrate a state boys' volleyball title since New Oxford did so in 2005.

And what a celebration it was.

After the initial, euphoric mob, the Northeastern players were presented with the state championship trophy, which they held aloft as one. They took turns cradling it as they shuffled off to a far corner of the facility, where a crew of camera-wielding parents and fans was waiting to take team pictures.

For the Bobcats, it was one big blur.

"I've been waiting for this a long time," said Nick Michalak, one of Northeastern's seniors. "I finally got the chance."

Added junior Ian Tyger: "I'm just on cloud nine. I know it happened, but I don't' know what to do with myself."

In a way, this title was a long time coming for Northeastern, which won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993 but had since known mostly heartbreak in the state tournament. Northeastern made its only other state final appearance in 2007, losing to Exeter in five games.

This time would be different. Northeastern offered validation of the dominating form it had shown all season - it lost one non-tournament match (to Class AAA state runner-up Pennsbury) and never dropped below second in the PVCA's Class AA rankings. Along the way, the Bobcats defended their YAIAA and District 3 titles.

In its semifinal match Saturday morning, Northeastern toppled YAIAA foe Eastern York, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-15. In three matches against the Bobcats this season, Eastern won just a single game.

Still, the semifinal appearance was quite an achievement for a Golden Knights program that is still just 11 years old. Eastern played the Bobcats tough in every game but the fourth.

Levi Myers led the Golden Knights with 13 kills, while Chris Bair had 30 assists.

"You can't give anything easy to a team like that," Golden Knights coach Carol Thompson said of Northeastern. "You can't give any free balls and you can't make any mistakes."

Shoemaker, Northeastern's junior setter, dished 43 assists and served up a stunning eight aces in the final. Tyger had 14 kills, while Alex Reichard chipped in 11 and senior Cory Bair added eight.

When the team's postgame photo-op finally ended, Wilson surveyed the buzzing crowd of parents and players in front of him.

"I'm oblivious. I'm in a cloud right now, a haze," he said smiling. "It might take a little while for this to sink in. And that's OK."