WARRINGTON — At this point of the girls volleyball season, nobody is more experienced or well-prepared for the bright lights and vise-like pressure of the PIAA Tournament than Pope John Paul II.
After all, the Golden Panthers have won the past three PIAA-3A championships, doing so in undefeated fashion each instance. This time around PJP is no longer undefeated, but the team also has something intangible and immeasurable about them that just provides full faith that the players will figure out a way to be the last team standing. This, after all, is what a true dynasty does.
A dynastic team wins even when not at their total best or has to work a little extra harder than accustomed to. All that matters is the end result, the bottom line of did we win and get closer to carving our legacy in stone?
After Saturday’s PIAA quarterfinal bout with District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic, of course the answers to those queries were in the affirmative. Like so many of PJP’s wins over the past four years, this one did not come easy at all; at the same time, the end score was the exact same as so many that came before it – a 3-0 sweep, with the Golden Panthers once again on to the state semifinals, where they will square off against District 2 champ Berwick at Pottsville’s Martz Hall on Tuesday evening. Saturday’s set scores were 25-23, 25-20, 25-19.
“This was definitely a bigger film-heavy team,” senior Norah Busch said of Pope’s preparation. “We watched a lot of film and knew it wasn’t one of our games where we couldn’t just come out and show out. We had a pretty to-a-T game plan with our serving, where we were playing defense and where we hit our offensive shots.
“That first set, we were holding on pretty tight. It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth. We knew we needed to control our side and what they were going to do. We just had to (execute) our game plan.”
Pope John Paul II senior Norah Busch posted 18 kills, nine digs and 15 service points (including seven aces) in her team’s 3-0 win over Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA-3A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
It was abundantly clear that Busch brought her A-game on Saturday. She posted nine of her team-leading 18 kills in set one as well as two of her seven aces in the match. Bethlehem Catholic’s Jocelyn Bell was equally effective, tallying five kills of her own along with two additional kills and two aces courtesy of teammate Sophia Bedics. The two teams were locked at 21-all before Pope went in front for good after a kill from freshman Cailyn McTamney. Busch had an ace on the next serve, and though the Hawks pulled to within 24-23, Haley Maloney (13 kills) ended the proceedings with a kill down the middle.
After Pope won the 3A district title over West Chester Rustin in four sets, Busch talked about how the Panthers are far from a second-set team. If they drop sets, that one tends to be their kryptonite, as they did against Rustin before ultimately course-correcting and winning out.
On Saturday, PJP once again started set two flat, falling behind 6-1 and 10-4. However, this time the Panthers (21-3) did not give in. McTamney had a block and kill on consecutive Pope points, and then Busch buried two aces to pull within 10-8. The Hawks got hot again, with a Bedics ace putting them back up by five, 15-10. Ava Maloney landed consecutive kills and Pope stayed within striking distance until Busch again entered closer mode. Her third ace of the set and fifth of the match gave Pope its first set two lead at 21-20, and the Maloney sisters also had strong finishes to the set to help the Panthers claim a hard-fought 25-20 win.
“We came into the game knowing this was a really good team, so it was more about who could keep their composure the longest,” said Ava Maloney, who had seven kills and seven service points. “The first set we were a little scared, and the second set was obviously close – we just kept our composure. We worked great as a team in the second set and worked well together to make sure the lead they got in the beginning didn’t affect us at all.”
The third set was PJP’s best of the match. After falling behind 3-1 and 7-6, they would not trail again once the team took an 8-7 lead. Every player on the court contributed as the team found perfect cohesion on offense and defense. Back on their heels earlier in the match, the Panthers finally exerted control and looked a lot more like their confident and assured selves. Pope’s lead stretched as high as six points and the Hawks never got closer than four the rest of the way.
Pope John Paul II senior Ava Maloney had seven kills and seven service points in her team’s 3-0 win over Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA-3A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
“Any day could be our last at this point, so at every practice and game we’re leaving it all out on the court,” Busch said. “We’re doing whatever we can to just focus on our side. We know we’re going to face great teams, so for us it’s about sticking together.”
“We’re all 100 percent locked in,” Ava Maloney added. “We all want to win every single game. Especially the seniors – this is our last season, and for some of us it’s the last time ever playing volleyball. We’re all good friends who don’t want to stop going to practice every day.”
For Bethlehem Catholic, the Hawks certainly threw their best punches. PJP looked uncomfortable at times and were baited into unforced errors they don’t usually make. It was just the second loss of the entire season for Bethlehem Catholic in another very strong season for the 3A champs out of District 11.
“Obviously we know Pope John Paul is a great, historical program,” Hawks head coach Jessica Attieh said. “Going into it can be kind of intimidating, but we’re also similar (programs). We make a district run every year and make a state run most of the time. Historically we’re almost as good as they are – they just overpowered us in a way.
“They have a quick offense that we don’t usually see in our conference and district. It took some time to catch up, which we ended up doing toward the middle of the first set and took that into the second set when we started to adapt. We fell back on our tendencies to be predictable and not mix things up as much as I wanted to. This felt more like a finals match than quarterfinals, which is usually how it is when we end up seeing them.”
Bethlehem Catholic’s Jocelyn Bell racked up double-digit kills in the Hawks’ 3-0 loss to Pope John Paul II in the PIAA-3A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
Other standouts for PJP included Kailey Hudy and Alexa May, who teamed up for 31 assists. Sophia Benincasa had a team-leading 16 assists, and Mia Mobley produced half of that amount herself. Hudy added 10 service points to her day, and McTamney made several big plays, showing the fortitude of an upperclassmen despite the fact that she was in eighth grade this time last year.
After the match, Busch pointed out that all of the programs that won state titles in 2024 — North Allegheny in 4A, Trinity in 2A and Greensburg CC in 1A — are no longer playing. That leaves PJP to put the finishing touches on its fourth straight state title for this seven-person senior class.
“We’re the last team left (of that group),” Busch said. “We talked about having to play for our legacy. It’s the senior class’ final run, so giving it our all is all we can do. We understand the pressure, we’ve been here the last three years. Every practice we get is another extension of our season.”
“We don’t want this to end – ever,” Maloney concluded.
