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Young, BYU back in volleyball Final Four

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Bittel

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Goolsby

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Petrone

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Young

McMurray native Devin Young will have one more chance to win a national championship.

Young, a senior middle blocker for the Brigham Young men’s volleyball team, has helped the Cougars to a spot in the NCAA Final Four that begins tonight in Chicago. BYU (21-8) will play Stanford (23-8) at 7 p.m. The winner will play either Penn State (25-6) or Loyola of Illinois (19-1) for the championship Saturday night.

Young has gone from walk-on player to a key figure in the BYU lineup that has reached the Final Four two years in a row. The Cougars were 26-5 last season and lost to Cal-Irvine in the national championship game.

The 6-9 Young, who is a Peters Township graduate, is a force at the net. He is third on the team in kills with 149 and second with 116 blocks.

After playing volleyball at Peters Township, Young attended BYU on an academic scholarship. He had no plans to play volleyball. However, after being encouraged to try out for the team, Young made the roster and has developed into a key player for the Cougars.

“Devin’s impact has been more subtle perhaps,” BYU coach Chris McGowan told the Salt Lake City Desert News. “He’s not your traditional star in that he’s not a terribly flamboyant character. He’s just a solid, kind-of-work guy.”

Taylor Sander, one of Young’s teammates, added, “He’s a leader and he works super hard every day. He’s a great role model to all the guys. … He’s one of the best middle blockers in the nation.”

BYU has defeated Stanford three times this season, including twice in Provo, Utah. The Cougars swept Stanford in the championship game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament last Saturday.

Mike Bittel, a sophomore starting pitcher for Seton Hill, was named first team All-PSAC West Division.

A McMurray native and Peters Township graduate, Bittel, a right-handed pitcher, has a 7-2 record, one save and a 2.18 ERA in 13 outings (nine starts). The seven wins are tied for the team lead. He has struck out 40 in 53 2/3 innings and opponents are batting only .205 against Bittel.

Seton Hill won the PSAC West regular-season title with a 22-6 record in league play. The Griffins are 36-14 heading into the PSAC tournament that begins today in Butler. Seton Hill plays Kutztown (6:30 p.m.) in the first round.

Former Waynesburg standout Emily Rohanna, a sophomore at Youngstown State, helped the Penguins to a third-place finish in the Horizon League Championships held at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla.

Rohanna placed 26th overall with a three-round score of 250 (85-87-78).

Rohanna also placed 20th with a two-round total of 164 (77-86) at the Red Flash Invite hosted by St. Francis at the Sunnehanna Country Club last month.

Kiera Goolsby, a sophomore at Bethany, placed fifth in the women’s 100-meter dash at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships. The Washington graduate finished the 100 in 12.85 seconds. She also placed ninth in the 200 meters with a time of 26.85.

• Rhianna Petrone, a junior at Bethany, placed sixth in the 10,000-meter run at the PAC Championships. The Canonsburg native crossed the finish line in 42:50.53 to score the first points of the meet for the Bison.

• Hans Lubich, a senior at Slippery Rock, has qualified in three events for the PSAC Championships that will begin today at Shippensburg.

A Jefferson-Morgan graduate and Jefferson resident, Lubich is qualified in the 100-meter dash, high jump and will be participating with The Rock’s 1,600-meter relay team. Lubich’s 11.01 time in the 100 is the sixth-fastest in the PSAC this season.

Otterbein’s Julie Stroyne, a senior from Venetia, was named the Ohio Athletic Conference women’s tennis player of the week for April 20-26.

Stroyne had a 4-0 record (two wins in singles, two in doubles) and helped Otterbein finish the regular season with a 16-0 record against Ohio Athletic Conference competition.

Stroyne, a Peters Township graduate, is a three-time OAC Player of the Year, has a 15-4 record this season in singles competition and is 18-2 in doubles. She has a 68-8 career record in singles.

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