Why Freeport & North Catholic volleyball are thinking big this postseason
Over 70 teams across six classes have qualified for the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs. Some of them are just happy to be in the postseason.
Section champions Freeport and North Catholic are not among them.
Heavyweights in Class 3A and 5A, respectively, the Yellowjackets (20-0) and Trojanettes (14-1) both eye runs deep into November.
Freeport nearly lost for the first time this season Tuesday night, surviving a 3-2 affair with a sub-.500 Deer Lakes team.
"They came ready to play and we didn't," Freeport coach Tom Phillips said. "We struggled staying in system, but it could be a blessing in disguise."
That's because the 'Jackets are an incredibly balanced team, and hitting the reset button shortly before the playoffs begin could be just what the players need to get them in the right mindset for the pressures of the postseason. In their regular-season finale on Thursday, they swept a strong Burrell squad.
"When we're playing our best, our passes are pinpoint, and our setter, Caylee Zembrzuski (472 assists this season), can set teammates to the left, middle or right,“ Phillips said.
Emily Boylan, Evie Tola, Jayme Radvan and Lucy Majersky have combined for 486 kills this season. Lauren Hellgren has also contributed clutch swings of her arm to the attack.
“We wanted to space out the offense, rather than being pin-heavy (on the outside),” said defensive specialist Macy Stivenson. “We’ve done a good job of improving on that throughout the season.”
Freeport has also received strong play from libero Nina Pagano. The Yellowjackets, who have now qualified for the district playoffs 26 years in a row, have won seven WPIAL titles in their history, the last coming in 2022.
“We’re hungry, and we know that we can totally get it,” Radvan said of making it eight crowns.
North Catholic coach Amanda Fetter saw a lot of positives from her team in 2025, when the Trojanettes reached the WPIAL semifinals in Class 4A.
“We were a really young team and how successful we’d be this year was going to depend on how well those players matured,” she said. “We have 24 kids on the varsity roster, and I trust all of them in a big game.”
One reason that North is such a strong team is that Chloe Summerville is adept at playing both setter and outside hitter. Entering this week’s play, she had tallied 297 assists and 80 kills this fall.
That versatility is made possible, in part, by Raegan Schwartz’s own ability as a setter (247 assists).
Sets have gone to a plethora of hitters, but Jillian Kalis is the leader by far in kills with 248.
“There’s no difference in the way the offense runs whether it’s Chloe or Raegan doing the setting,” Kalis, a sophomore, said. “They’ve both stepped up.
“One goal we had this year was to stick together. If you’re out there on the court playing for yourself, you’re not doing what’s best for the team.”
Lauren Reitz, Kaylee Garr and Jocelyn Roofner are other options at the net. Reitz and Garr have combined for 58 blocks. Libero Sawyer Gubba has 225 digs.
The Trojanettes earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Pine-Richland to open the season Sept. 3. The Rams are currently ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 6A.
“We came away from that game feeling really good,” Kalis said. “It showed how we could push ourselves to the limit.”
