Seneca Valley duo help Pitt Elite volleyball club to 21st in nation
Bella Seman is never far away from a volleyball court.
The Seneca Valley junior plays the sport nearly 365 days a year between the high school season and the Pittsburgh Elite Club Volleyball season.
“A lot of people say, 'Oh my gosh, how do you not get burned out?'” Seman said. “We had a kids camp from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then I had Pitt Elite practice from 6 to 9. My body feels it, but I love the sport so much that I just don't care.”
That's because volleyball is basically a Seman family business.
Seman's older sisters, Cate and Angela, played for both Seneca Valley and Pitt Elite.
Cate Seman is now a senior on the University of Rhode Island volleyball team and Angela Seman is a red-shirt freshman at the University of Pittsburgh.
Both returned to the court to help Bella Seman and her Pitt Elite 16 Premiere 1 volleyball team prepare for the USAV Girls' Junior National Championships, which was played last week in New Orleans.
“We had more than a month off between tournaments and we played against Pitt Elite alumni and coaches, some who played overseas,” Bella Seman said. “That really helped us. My team brought a fire that I've never really seen before.”
That fire led the 16 Premiere 1 team to a strong finish at the national tournament, placing 21st.
The team entered the tournament as a low seed, but beat No. 4-seeded Blackswamp of Tiffin, Ohio, and took No. 1 seed A4 Volley from Orange County, Calif., to the brink.
“We played Blackswamp before and never beat them,” Seman said. “They said to us, 'Wow, you really work well as a team.'” The big difference was we weren't six players playing volleyball. We were six players playing as a team.”
Seman, a defensive specialist, was joined on the 16 Premiere 1 team by Seneca Valley teammate and middle hitter Maria Alfano.
Other members included Caroline Bain and Natalie Palastro of Oakland Catholic, Whitney Brown of Avonworth, Lauren Kolenik of Serra Catholic, Mikayla Logan and Marie Mosbacher of North Allegheny, and Janie Rodavich of Chartiers Valley.“They meshed from the beginning,” said 16 Premiere 1 coach Mike Scahill. “They just got better and better throughout the year.”The 16 Premiere 1 team was the only Pitt Elite club team to reach nationals.Scahill said there are hundreds of teams in that age group in Pennsylvania that his team had to beat out to reach New Orleans.“Getting to nationals is not an easy thing to do,” Scahill said.Scahill was particularly impressed with the play of Seman, who is one of the leaders of the team.“Bella is our rock,” Scahill said. “She is covering about two-thirds of the court. She's just an amazing player. She has very good court-sense and is such an unselfish player.“She has 'it,'” Scahill added. “She has what it takes to play at the next level. Some college coach someday is going to be very happy.”That is Seman's goal — to follow in her sister's footsteps and play Division I volleyball.Seman said her sisters have been invaluable in her development as a player.“I've been watching my sisters play since I was 4,” Seman said. “Being the youngest, people always said you have to be the best. There's pressure there, but it's pressure I put on myself to be the best. My sisters will show me things and tell me what they see I'm doing and help me fix it.”Seman wants to pursue a career in broadcast journalism with a minor in international affairs.All her life, volleyball has been her major.
“I took today off,” Seman said the day after she and her teammates returned from New Orleans, “and I'm bored.”Alfano went on vacation right after the national tournament, but was already itching to get back on the court.“I'm looking forward to high school season,” Alfano said. “We're going to be really good. We're going to kill it.”Unlike Seman, Alfano has only been playing volleyball for three years.The 6-footer was always encouraged to play because of her height.“People said, 'Hey, you're tall. You should play volleyball,'” Alfano said, laughing.Alfano, who also plays basketball and runs track at Seneca Valley, took quickly to the sport.Now, like Seman, she wants to play at a high level in college — and playing in national tournaments like the one with 16 Premiere 1 helps gain her exposure.“It was a lot of fun playing in the national tournament,” Alfano said. “There were so many great teams and great players there. It was a big challenge for us.”
