After graduating eight seniors from last year’s big-school state championship volleyball team in Pennsylvania, Heidi Rottinghaus Miller knew repeating would be a big challenge.
But the former Columbus East and Penn State standout stood atop the medals podium again. She coached North Allegheny to its second consecutive title.
"We graduated a big chunk of kids," Miller said. "It had a different feel the whole way through because it was a different mix of kids with roles that got bigger or roles that changed. It was kind of a new test. They did a great job filling the gaps and stepping up to the challenge."
Not only did North Allegheny win the state title again, it went 24-0 for the second consecutive season.
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"You need that sense of knowing what it takes to go undefeated," Miller said. "This year, we had a target on our back. But the kids really stepped up to the challenge of doing some things that maybe weren’t as comfortable, but doing them well."
That included Miller’s two daughters. Abby, a junior, went from being primarily a setter do doing both setting and hitting. Paige, a sophomore, went from playing only in the front row to playing all the way around.
Both daughters made first-team All-WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League), All-Section and All-State.
But North Allegheny had plenty of quality players. Heidi Miller, who spent 14 years as an assistant at the suburban Pittsburgh school and just finished her seventh as head coach, said her second team probably was the next-best team it faced all year.
"I give the kids credit," Heidi Miller said. "They played very low-error, smart volleyball. We served tough and passed well and made very few unforced errors. It was nice. I just kind of sat back and let them play, and they brought it."
North Allegheny loses four seniors from this year’s squad. But several key players, including Abby and Paige, will be back.
"(The seniors are) good, so it will be a loss, but there’s a core coming back, so people are already talking about the ‘Three-Peat,’" she said. "I’m like, ‘We just finished winning this one.’"
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Name: Heidi Rottinghaus Miller
Age: 43
High school: Columbus East
College: Penn State
Occupation: Art teacher and volleyball coach at North Allegheny High School in suburban Pittsburgh
Family: Husband Brian, daughters Abby and Paige
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