stirred, not shaken: penn hills girls volleyball rallies to halt 14-game section losing streak after dropping opening set to woodland hills

Penn Hills outside hitter Zakeira Montini sings "Party in the USA" with the Penn Hills student section after the Indians snapped a 14-game losing streak in section play Tuesday night at home. Josh Rizzo/Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges

"I saw her screaming. I ran right to her and everyone started coming in. She was the main focus."
-Zakeira Montini on hugging her mom after scoring the match-ending point

PENN HILLS - Jamie Montini received an emphatic hug from her daughter, Zakeira, in the middle of a swarming crowd.

Zakeira made a beeline for her mom, who was sitting in the front row, after scoring the point that snapped a 14-game section losing streak in section play Tuesday night in home. It was a night of high emotions for Zakeira, who also earned a bouquet of flowers and an invitation to homecoming after the match.

"That's the one thing I was thinking about after I scored that point," said Montini, a senior outsider hitter for the Indians. "'Cause I knew she was watching. I saw her screaming and I ran right to her and everybody started coming in. She was the main focus."

Penn Hills had to use every bit of creativity it had to beat Woodland Hills, 3-1. The Indians (2-7, 1-4) don't have a powerful offensive attack and rely on tips and misdirection to score points.

Penn Hills coach Raymond Ager III was happy to pick up his first Section 4-4A win since he took over the program in 2024.

​"It feels great, especially finding out it's been since 2023," Ager said. "It feels great to beat a rival who was trolling us on social media all week."

The Wolverines (0-8, 0-5) got off to a solid start behind the serving of senior setter/right-side Becca Busch. Woodland Hills scored the first three points and were in control for the entire first set.

Wolverines assistant coach Joey Cunningham said they were able to effectively utilize their serve.

"Honestly, I feel like with our team right now, we are good at utilizing our utility players," Cunningham said. "We have a lot of utility players right now that we could just very easily move around and pop around. I would say when we get it ruts, we can move someone up a little bit. they do very well with that."

Ager said that Penn Hills made a tactical change by switching liberos. The Indians leaned on Layla Smedley after the first set.

"She's an all-around athlete," Ager said. "She's like a ninja on the court. She really flies around and brings big energy."

The Indians won the second set, 25-14. In the third set, Penn Hills built a 23-9 lead before allowing Woodland Hills to roll off seven consecutive points.

"I feel like we like to into a little bit of a rollercoaster where we do really good and then it just kind of drops," Cunningham said. "I think we're getting used to and getting really good at getting ourselves out of that rollercoaster."

The Wolverines rallied in the fourth set to even things at 19 points. Woodland Hills leaned on Niyah Brown and Jayla Brown to help carry the attack. The Wolverines couldn't maintain the momentum, dropping three consecutive points that allowed Penn Hills to get some seperation and close out the match.

The Indians won the final set 25-21. Montini said she believed Penn Hills would find a way to break through this season.

"I was thinking about the ending, like I knew we were going to win and I felt that in my heart and God's presence," Montini said. "I felt that in the whole game that we were going to win and the student section carried us through that with our energy."

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.