On Tuesday afternoon, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference girls volleyball all-star team was announced, and Bethlehem Catholic’s Jocelyn Bell and Piper Ruggiero were revealed as the league’s co-MVPs.
On Tuesday night, the two showed why they were deserving choices as the league’s best players.
Bell and Ruggiero were among the standouts as they led the Lady Hawks to a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-16 and 25-18) of Allentown Central Catholic in the EPC semifinals at Northampton Area High School.
Top-seeded Becahi (18-1) will return to Northampton at 7 p.m. Thursday to play No. 2 seed Parkland for the league championship.
The Trojans (19-1) advanced by beating Liberty in a five-set thriller (30-28, 27-29, 19-25, 25-14 and 15-11). Parkland will be going for its first league championship since 2023.
The Lady Hawks lost in last year’s league finals to Emmaus in five sets and also fell to ACCHS in five in 2024. They have not won a league title in the EPC’s current configuration.
Bethlehem Catholic’s Jocelyn Bell racked up double-digit kills in the Hawks’ 3-0 loss to Pope John Paul II in the PIAA-3A quarterfinals on November 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Evans/JoeEvansPictures.com)
“There’s a lot we want this year in the EPCs and I know I have to pull my weight for my team,” said Bell, who has committed to Fairleigh Dickinson University. “We didn’t get to play Central this year and it’s always a big game when we play them. I played with a lot of energy tonight.”
Bell totaled 22 kills and was a force upfront for a Becahi team that was tied at 23 in the first set and got the last two points before quickly getting out to a 6-1 win in the second set.
Ruggiero set the tone as one of the league’s best setters. She and Bell both repeated as first-team all-league selections.
“It felt great to be co-MVPs with Piper because we’ve been through so much through our volleyball careers; we’ve had such high moments together and we’ve been through some low moments,” Bell said. “We’ve done everything together … a setter and an outside hitter and it feels great to share the award with her.”
Ruggiero agreed, saying, “I’m happy to share with it Jocelyn because I’ve known her since third grade. She’s very special.”
They both want something more and that’s a league championship. Parkland beat Becahi 3-0 on Sept. 26.
“It’s going to take a lot to beat them,” Ruggiero said. “They swept us early in the season and we just have to play Becahi volleyball because when we played them before we weren’t at our best. Now, we’re playing up to our standards.”
Bell said, “Parkland is a great team with a lot of great energy, and they know how to adapt. We’re a completely different team now than we were earlier in the season. Postseason changes everything and we’ve improved since that first match because our back row and front row are more connected. Last time we weren’t producing a lot with our digs and we weren’t getting kills. When our offense was on, our defense wasn’t, but now we’ve created a lot of unity with our team.”
Parkland prevails
While Bethlehem Catholic is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association rankings, Parkland is No. 2 in 6A. The Trojans lone loss was to No. 1 Spring-Ford on Oct. 6. They had won four straight matches by 3-0 scores until Liberty pushed Parkland to the limit on Tuesday night.
After each team won games by two points, Liberty seemed to take command by winning the third set. Parkland, however, wouldn’t quit.
Alex Serina had 36 assists, Riley Schilling had 18 kills and MJ and Sami Walls and MJ Bhanji had nine kills apiece in a balanced attack. Chloe Coonradt and Zoe Leach combined for 47 digs.
“The biggest thing tonight was our mental toughness,” longtime Parkland coach Mike Krause said. “We could have folded being down 2-1. But you got to win three and we were only down 2-1 and we were off in the first couple of sets in terms of rhythm. We were reacting a little slow and Liberty hits the ball pretty hard. But our girls started clicking together and they were coaching each other in the right way. There was no finger-pointing. They were seeing patterns that Liberty was doing and they picked up on it and they helped each other and relied on each other. Gabby Nissen is the heart and soul of that group. She wants to win and she wants to compete.”
Krause said that while his team doesn’t have the star power it may have had in the past, he has a team that really works together and supports one another.
“We don’t have anybody who is really going to dominate, but we are so good collectively,” he said.
Leach said her team had to stayed focused when Liberty moved in front.
“We focused on playing for each other,” Leach, a senior defensive specialist, said. “We know that all of us can have our moments. We’re all very competitive. We’ve got to channel that energy and we all need to play together. We were focused coming into this one and that’s going to be the key going into the championship match. We have to focus on the little things, starting with the basics, and that will be a huge part of what it will take.”
EPC all-star teams
All-EPC first Team
Jocelyn Bell (Becahi), co-MVP; Piper Ruggiero (Becahi) co-MVP; Sofia Condoulis, Liberty; Rosalia Landino (Emmaus); Briana Bauer (Allentown CCHS); Riley Schilling (Parkland); MJ Bhanji (Parkland).
All-EPC second team
Mia Mitch (Liberty); Chloe Coonradt (Parkland); Eva Madeira (Liberty); Emily Tucker (ACC): Madeline Ahner (Becahi); Isabela Kulczycki (Easton); Alex Serina (Parkland).
All-EPC third team
Claire Luckenhach (Northampton); Gabby Nissen (Parkland); LaSereon James (Whitehall); Leah Sweetana (Allentown CCHS); Fiona Answini (Emmaus); Maeva Mazza (Pocono Mountain East); Lanie Schenkel (Liberty); Kylie Shereba (Nazareth).
Monroe County first team
Mya Williams (Pleasant Valley); Kira Hnat (Pleasant Valley); Madelyn Vargas (Stroudsburg); Maeve Mazza (Pocono Mountain East); Camille Hubbs (Pocono Mountain East); Alyssa Hubbs (Pocono Mountain East); Emma Covino (Pocono Mountain West); Isabella Slizewski (Pleasant Valley); Sasha Slozina (Pleasant Valley); Assunta McCarthy (Stroudsburg).
Monroe County second team
Sophia Hillenbrand (Pocono Mountain East); Kaycee Jurasits (Pocono Mountain East); Jaylyn Rowe (Pocono Mountain West); Emmerson Deluna (Pleasant Valley); Lila Borger (Pleasant Valley); Harley Durant (Pleasant Valley); Kendall Runkel (Stroudsburg); Juliette Perich (Stroudsburg).
Monroe County third team
Zoe Taylor (ES North); Breyanna Sims (PM West); Hunter Farkas (Pleasant Valley); Gabrielle Moro (ES North); Stasia Wills (ES South); Kayla Colletta (ES South); Alexis McAteer (ES North).
Northampton County first team
Jocelyn Bell (Becahi); Piper Ruggiero (Becahi); Sofia Condoulis (Liberty); Madeline Ahner (Becahi); Kylie Shereba (Nazareth); Isabela Kulczycki (Easton); Sira Powell (Freedom).
Northampton County second team
Ondine Murabet (Freedom); Claire Luckenbach (Northampton); Alexa Lannon (Easton); Eva Madeira (Liberty); Beth Harvey (Nazareth); Zoey Praedin (Becahi); Lanie Schenkel (Liberty); Christina Kish (Freedom).
Northampton County third team
Sage McKenna (Freedom); Grace Wolfel (Northampton); Wildasin McKenzie (Nazareth); Morgan Owstrosky (Becahi); Tessa Lezama (Easton); Anzlea Frailey (Freedom); Cyd Chilson (Northampton); Maddy Taff (Northampton).
Lehigh County first team
Rosalia Landino (Emmaus); Briana Bauer (Allentown CCHS); Leah Sweetana (Allentown CCHS); Emily Tucker (Allentown CCHS); Chloe Coonradt (Parkland); Fiona Answini (Emmaus); Riley Schilling (Parkland); LaSereon James (Whitehall),
Lehigh County second team
Andraya Flowers (Emmaus); Emma Nesfeder (Emmaus); MJ Bhanji (Parkland); Gabby Nissen (Parkland); Piper Cerimele (Allentown CCHS); Alma Mourmari (Dieruff); Ashlyn Felker (Whitehall).
Lehigh County third team
Alex Serina (Parkland); Sami Walls (Parkland); Desiree Cattouse (Dieruff); Chloe Cook (Allentown CCHS); Emily Strobl (Allentown CCHS); Norinellys Rodriguez (Allen); Demilee Nunez (Allen); Makenna Reichenbach (Whitehall); Alyssa Washington (Allen).
Colonial League finals
It will be Southern Lehigh facing Notre Dame-Green Pond at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Colonial League championship after the defending champion Spartans beat Lehighton 3-0 and the Crusaders outlasted Northwestern Lehigh 3-2 in the semifinals on Tuesday night.
For Southern Lehigh (28-1-2), Amelia McCoy led the way with nine kills, two blocks and an ace. Cam Tyrell chipped in five aces, two assists and six digs and Sarah Jones had six kills and two digs.
Casey Lagodney had 16 kills and Addyson Wilson added 10 for the Crusaders (19-7-4). Rachel Fisher and Natalie Lilly had 21 and 20 digs, respectively.