H-S Athlete of the Week: Addison Schultz, Frazier
Name: Addison Schultz
School: Frazier
Class: Junior
Sport: Volleyball
Schultz鈥檚 week: Schultz recorded 14 kills and five blocks in Frazier鈥檚 epic five-set battle with Greensburg Central Catholic in the PIAA Class A semifinals at Norwin High School last Tuesday, which the Lady Centurions won by scores of 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 8-25, 15-8. Despite falling short of the PIAA championship match, it was the Lady Commodores鈥� deepest run in the state tournament. Schultz, a 5-foot-9陆 junior middle hitter, was stellar throughout the PIAA playoffs, recording 16 kills and eight blocks in a five-set road upset of District 10 champion Saegertown (25-21, 13-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-10) and seven kills and five blocks in a three-set sweep of District 9 champion Clarion (25-13, 25-20, 25-15) at North Allegheny. The state tournament run offset what was a disappointing three-set loss to GCC in the WPIAL final after Frazier had won its 17th section title under coach Mandy Hartman.
Schultz, the 16-year-old daughter of Joe and Denielle Colapietro, isn鈥檛 bitter about the loss to GCC in her team鈥檚 finale. 鈥淚 know we lost the last one but it was definitely a fun game and I know not only me but the whole team put everything we had into it,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淭he two sets we won, that was us, that鈥檚 how we play. I think they just kind of took control a little bit in the middle of the fifth set and we started to get a little nervous. GCC just was better than us at the end.鈥�
Turning the page: The key to Frazier鈥檚 state run was putting the GCC loss in the WPIAL final behind them, according to Schultz. 鈥淲e just had to have a short-term memory with that match, just move on and realize we didn鈥檛 play how we know we can,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t Saegertown we said let鈥檚 just give it everything we have and see what happens. We went into that game excited and we really did just turn ourselves around. We went into the Clarion match the exact same way, wanting to have fun and be loose but also giving it everything we have. Whenever we have fun we play a lot better.鈥�
Best memories: Schultz couldn鈥檛 pick one match that stood out from all the rest this season. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been great all along, during games and practices, outside of volleyball, too,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淲e all get along with each other and we鈥檙e all so close. If I had to pick a single game I most remember it would probably be the WPIAL final from my freshman year.鈥� Frazier won its second WPIAL championship that season with a 3-0 sweep of Serra Catholic with Schultz contributing to the victory. 鈥淲e just all had fun that game.鈥�
Getting better: Schultz, one of the Lady Commodores鈥� biggest weapons up front and also an excellent jump server, is never complacent. 鈥淎ny chance I get I鈥檓 trying to improve my serving, blocking, hitting, everything,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淚 focus on getting my blocking better because I think I can improve there some, and, even though it鈥檚 not my position, I try to work on my back row a little bit to make sure I鈥檓 good there, too.鈥�
Hartman commended Schultz, who led the team with an average of five blocks per match, for her dedication. 鈥淎ddison is a strong middle blocker and was one of our go-to hitters this season,鈥� Hartman said. 鈥淪he has tremendous work ethic and strivves to get better every day. She leads by example and was a key to our success that we had this season.鈥�
Heart for Hartman: Schultz has nothing but praise for Hartman. 鈥淪he鈥檚 great. She鈥檚 there for us, if you need anything on or off the court,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淪he makes volleyball fun and enjoyable for us. If we have a great day or a bad day, she always supports us. She鈥檚 never down on us. She鈥檚 always encouraging us to do the best we can.鈥�
Tidbits: Schultz likes to analyze her past performances to see how she can improve. 鈥淚 still go back and watch over some of our games, good ones and bad ones, just to see if I could improve on something or do something different or if something worked to know to continue doing that.鈥� 鈥� Schultz plays volleyball all year around. 鈥淣ow I have club volleyball so I just move on to that,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淚 play for P3R. They鈥檙e based in South Park.鈥� 鈥� Schultz has high hopes for her senior season. 鈥淲e are losing some big-time players but with some adjustments I think we can be really good and go far again.鈥� 鈥� Schultz showed her honestly and quelled any controversy in the GCC state match about the final point of the first set. The Lady Centurions were ahead 24-23 and hit the ball out but officials correctly ruled, according to Schultz, that a Frazier player had tipped the ball and awarded GCC the point. 鈥淲e did touch it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was the right call.鈥�
Compiled by Rob Burchianti