The Thomas Jefferson High School girls' volleyball team will make its 10th consecutive WPIAL playoff appearance next week.

"Our goal every year is to win a section title and qualify for the WPIAL playoffs," Jaguars coach Ron Kelly said. "This is my seventh year and we've won or shared the section title five times. It's a tribute to the dedication of our athletes here at Thomas Jefferson."

After dropping its first Section 5-AA match of the season Tuesday against South Park, Thomas Jefferson will take an 8-1 section record into its regular-season finale tonight at Wilkinsburg.

"The Wilkinsburg match was scheduled for last Thursday [Oct. 15], but that was the same night as our football game against Chartiers Valley," Kelly said. "The girls wanted to see the football game, so we asked Wilkinsburg to change the match to this week considering we both had an open date."

Thomas Jefferson entered the week No. 8 in Class AA rankings compiled by the WPIAL Coaches Association.

"There is no clear-cut favorite in Class AA," Kelly said. "Almost every team that finishes first or second in their section has a legitimate shot of making it to the semifinals and qualifying for the PIAA playoffs."

West Allegheny is the defending WPIAL champion in Class AA, but entered the week ranked No. 2. The Indians shut out top-ranked South Fayette, 3-0, on Tuesday, then faced No. 4 Freeport last night.

"We faced South Fayette in a non-section match earlier in the season and lost in four games," Kelly said. "That's the only team ahead of us in the rankings that we've faced [in a best-of-five format match] this year."

Elizabeth Forward won the Section 5-AA title last year, unseating Thomas Jefferson. The Jaguars regained the title this year with a pair of close wins against the Warriors.

"Elizabeth Forward has a very strong team again this year," Kelly said. "Both of our matches against them went to five games. In our match at Elizabeth Forward [on Sept. 22], we lost the first game, then came back and beat them, 35-33, in the second game. That was a big match because it was broadcast on the MSA Sports Network.

"When [Elizabeth Forward] came to our place [on Oct. 13], we had to rally from a 2-1 deficit with wins in the final two games. That clinched the section title for us."

Thomas Jefferson had to replace six talented players who graduated from last year's squad, but returned nine players who had varsity experience. Five of the nine played a significant role last year, 5-foot-9 senior middle hitter Kayla Horan, 5-8 junior outside hitter Nicole Miller, 5-3 senior back-row specialist Jordan Paddick, 5-8 junior outside hitter Melissa Hess and 5-8 senior right-side hitter Becky Dalton.

"Kayla won a starting job midway through last season and has anchored our front row this year," Kelly said. "Nicole played in the front row last year. This year she's playing every rotation. Jordan, Melissa and Becky also saw significant playing time on the varsity last year."

The other four returning letter-winners are 5-7 senior outside hitter Samantha Ihrig, 5-6 senior middle hitter Leah Miller and a pair of 5-5 senior back-row specialists Olivia Mendlowitz and Emily Urbaniak.

"Samantha backs up at all three hitting positions," Kelly said. "She's the first off the bench."

Natalie Meyer, a 5-5 junior, has taken over the setting duties.

"Natalie was our JV setter last year," Kelly said. "She's done a great job making the transition to varsity. She's a real stable leader on the floor and does a great job of distributing the ball. Natalie is also my best server. I start her there every game."

Other newcomers who see significant playing time are 5-8 junior middle hitter Jill Albreicht, 5-4 junior back-row specialist Meghan Donahue and 5-5 junior libero Brianna Surgot.

"This is where I hoped we would be going into the playoffs," Kelly said. "We've improved a lot since week one."

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