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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 | 7:48 PM
Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Mt. Lebanon’s Leah Kessler works against Bethel Park’s Marena Chernicky last Wednesday.
It has become crowded at the top of Section 2-4A in WPIAL girls soccer.
Five teams in that section are separated by only two and a half games heading into a busy Wednesday that includes 43 district section soccer matches.
Four of the top five teams will go head-to-head in an effort to squeeze some separation among those top teams, or muddy the chase for the section title even more.
Mt. Lebanon is currently in first place by a half-game with a 7-1 section record. Peters Township is 6-1-1, Bethel Park is 6-2, Upper St. Clair 5-3 and Canon-McMillan 4-3-1.
On Wednesday, Peters Township hosts Bethel Park while Canon-McMillan visits first-place Mt. Lebanon. Also, Upper St. Clair is home to struggling Baldwin.
Last fall, the five teams all finished within three games of each other between second place and sixth place. Moon, now in 3A, won the Section 2-4A crown.
Another big girls soccer match Wednesday has Springdale hosting Greensburg Central Catholic.
The Dynamos (6-0) have a one game lead over the Centurions (5-1) in Section 1-A.
Springdale won the first meeting between these two in late August, 3-2.
Girls doubles sectionals
The field for the 2022 WPIAL girls doubles tennis championships on Oct. 4-5 will be determined during sectional qualifiers starting Wednesday.
There are 19 doubles teams participating in all four 3A sectionals and four of the five 2A sectionals. There are only 14 teams in Section 5-2A.
The top four duos from each section will qualify for the district playoff tournament next week.
All of the preliminary round, first round and quarterfinal matches Wednesday will be 10-game pro set matches. The semifinals may also be contested on the first day provided no player exceeds their maximum of three matches in a day. On Thursday, the semifinal and final matches will take place using the three-set format.
Here are the sites for the doubles sectionals.
• Section 1-3A at Franklin Regional
• Section 2-3A at North Allegheny
• Section 3-3A at Fox Chapel
• Section 4-3A at Bethel Park
• Section 1-2A at Valley
• Section 2-2A at Washington
• Section 3-2A at Hampton Township Community Park
• Section 4-2A at Blackhawk
• Section 5-2A at Nichols Courts in Sewickley
Steller nonsection volleyball
Four of the top WPIAL girls volleyball programs will meet Wednesday in a pair of nonsection dandies.
Three-time district champion Seneca Valley will battle defending 3A champion Freeport on Wednesday. The Yellowjackets have won district gold six times.
Two powerhouses in WPIAL girls volleyball for over a decade also collide in a nonsection match Wednesday when Bishop Canevin visits Greensburg Central Catholic.
While the Crusaders have won five straight WPIAL Class A championships, including a victory over the Centurions last fall in the finals, 3-1, these two used to play hot potato with the crown 10 years ago.
GCC won the title in 2012, 2014 and 2016 while BC won it all in 2013 and 2015 until its run of five straight began in 2017.
This fall, Seneca Valley is tied for second place in Section 1-4A behind defending champion North Allegheny, while Greensburg Central Catholic is a half-game behind Serra Catholic in Section 4A.
Freeport is in first place in Section 5-2A while Bishop Canevin is on top in Section 3-A.
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