H-S Athlete of the Week: Addison Schultz, Frazier
Name: Addison Schultz
School: Frazier
Class: Junior
Sport: Volleyball
Schultz’s week: Schultz recorded 14 kills and five blocks in Frazier’s 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’ deepest run in the state tournament. Schultz, a 5-foot-9½ 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’t bitter about the loss to GCC in her team’s finale. “I 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,” Schultz said. “The two sets we won, that was us, that’s 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.”
Turning the page: The key to Frazier’s state run was putting the GCC loss in the WPIAL final behind them, according to Schultz. “We just had to have a short-term memory with that match, just move on and realize we didn’t play how we know we can,” she said. “At Saegertown we said let’s 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.”
Best memories: Schultz couldn’t pick one match that stood out from all the rest this season. “It’s been great all along, during games and practices, outside of volleyball, too,” Schultz said. “We all get along with each other and we’re 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.” Frazier won its second WPIAL championship that season with a 3-0 sweep of Serra Catholic with Schultz contributing to the victory. “We just all had fun that game.”
Getting better: Schultz, one of the Lady Commodores’ biggest weapons up front and also an excellent jump server, is never complacent. “Any chance I get I’m trying to improve my serving, blocking, hitting, everything,” Schultz said. “I focus on getting my blocking better because I think I can improve there some, and, even though it’s not my position, I try to work on my back row a little bit to make sure I’m good there, too.”
Hartman commended Schultz, who led the team with an average of five blocks per match, for her dedication. “Addison is a strong middle blocker and was one of our go-to hitters this season,” Hartman said. “She 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.”
Heart for Hartman: Schultz has nothing but praise for Hartman. “She’s great. She’s there for us, if you need anything on or off the court,” Schultz said. “She makes volleyball fun and enjoyable for us. If we have a great day or a bad day, she always supports us. She’s never down on us. She’s always encouraging us to do the best we can.”
Tidbits: Schultz likes to analyze her past performances to see how she can improve. “I 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.” … Schultz plays volleyball all year around. “Now I have club volleyball so I just move on to that,” Schultz said. “I play for P3R. They’re based in South Park.” … Schultz has high hopes for her senior season. “We are losing some big-time players but with some adjustments I think we can be really good and go far again.” … 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. “We did touch it,” she said. “It was the right call.”
Compiled by Rob Burchianti