Mike Vukovcan As the 2024-25 school year rapidly comes to a close, that also means all of the Hopewell seniors will be entering the next chapter of their lives.
That will no doubt be both scary but also exciting.
One of those students that is winding down their days walking the halls of Hopewell High School is Alyssa Spang.
The multi-sport star and standout in the classroom has made the decision to take her talents to Pitt-Bradford, where she’ll continue her athletic career playing college volleyball.
Last night at the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame banquet, Spang and fellow senior Zach Kovell were nominated as Hopewell’s representatives of outstanding student-athletes.
Hopewell’s Alyssa Spang
Vikings Sports Now had the pleasure of talking with Spang about a variety of topics and started by talking about her decision to commit to Pitt-Bradford.
Spang will continue to play volleyball but could also end up playing multiple sports.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Pitt, they’ve always been my dream school,” Spang told VSN. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play volleyball or not and was set on going to Pitt main campus. But, after finishing this past volleyball and basketball season, I realized that I didn’t want the athletic part of my life to end.”
”However, I wanted my main focus in college to be on my schooling and thought I could do that at a D-III program. I went to Pitt-Bradford and really liked when I took a visit there. It had a small, hometown feel on campus and when I met all the girls on the volleyball team, it was great, very close-knit and welcoming.”
Hopewell’s Alyssa Spang
It’s an exciting decision that Spang has decided to continue her athletic career and Pitt-Bradford is getting a talented athlete. This past season, she was named to the WPIAL Class 2A All- Stars 2nd Team and the Class 2A Section 1 All- Stars 1st Team.
Spang was also a big contributor for Coach Jeff Homziak and the Vikings basketball team and her hoops career might not be finished.
“Aside from playing volleyball at Pitt-Bradford, I’ve also been given the opportunity to play basketball if I want to,” said Spang. “I wanted to keep that option open in case I was interested later. “
Spang and her volleyball teammates made it all the way to the WPIAL Championship Game before losing to Quaker Valley. You’d assume that would be the highlight of her senior season but that wouldn’t be the case. Instead Alyssa points toward the togetherness and bond that the team was able to form throughout the year. Spang cites that as a big reason for the success that they were able to enjoy.
Spang is a tremendous representative of Hopewell High School. Forget about her athletic talent, the way she excels in the classroom along with being a leader in the school. A perfect example of this is when I tried to get her to talk about the individual strides she made in her athletic career. For Alyssa it wasn’t about “I” it was about team.
”Honestly, I think a lot of people see me and Jordan (Sirianni) and think that we stick out when talking about the team and the success. But honestly, it really was about our team as a whole. Since my junior year, I’ve been practicing and hitting with Bella Ceccarelli. We spent all season and offseason together.”
”That was the case with the whole team,” said Spang. “We’ve all worked together and helped each other out, it really made everything flow for us as a team, not just Jordan and I.”
So this is it for Alyssa as she’ll enter her last week of high school. Spang will no doubt feel plenty of emotions over the next few days but she’s thankful and excited for what her future holds.
”I honestly can’t believe it. I never really thought it would go by so fast. I know that’s a cliche things have just flew by. These last few days have flown by. The fact that everything is over doesn’t feel real.”
”I’m really excited to for what’s next. I’ve been getting to know my new roommates in college already and just getting everything for that figured out. Right now, I’m more excited than sad that everything is going to change.”
