9 and counting
JACKSON TWP — Every time Seneca Valley's winning streak seemed to be in jeopardy, the Raiders' big hitters came to the rescue.
Since an early-season loss to North Allegheny, the Raiders' boys volleyball team had reeled off eight straight wins before hosting Butler in a key Section 2-AAA match Tuesday night.
SV rebounded from a sluggish start in the first game and capped the night by coming back to edge the Tornado in the third game to complete a 25-17, 25-18, 28-26 sweep of Butler at William Paul Gymnasium.
Butler was on the verge of forcing a fourth game when it took a 26-25 lead late in the third, but a kill from Evan Maurer tied the game and brought the serve back to the Raiders, who then scored the final two points, the last one on a service ace from Marshall Price.
Kyle Martini, Jon Dolfi and Matt Gagnon all came up with huge kills late in the match to keep the Raiders (9-1, 6-1) within striking distance.
“Our goal was to control the serves and passing,” said SV coach Dan Follett. “We knew it would keep Butler out of their system and that would allow us to take advantage of our size. Butler didn't know how to handle balls that were not hit perfectly to them.”
The loss dropped Butler to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in section play. The team's offense was out of sorts as no Golden Tornado player had more than four kills on the night.
“Seneca Valley is a good team and communication was a problem for us tonight,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “We do not have a ton of experience out there and mistakes are going to happen. I have to be patient as a coach.”
Butler had a golden opportunity to take an early advantage, building a 13-8 lead midway through the first game. But the Raiders settled down and when Price stepped behind the service line, the score was knotted at 15. With the help of three kills from Dolfi, the junior managed eight straight service points. After three straight points, Liparulo tried to break SV's momentum by calling a timeout, but five more points followed, including three aces from Price.
Butler's Cody Schnur finally broke the run with a kill, but the damage was done. SV now held a 23-16 lead and Dolfi ended the game moments later with his fifth kill.
“Seneca Valley had some unforced errors early in the first game and, to their credit, they got back on track,” Liparulo said.
Six service errors hampered Butler's efforts in the second game. The Tornado had 13 total in the three games.
“Serving errors have not been a consistent problem for us, but they have occurred,” said Liparulo.
Dolfi led the Raiders with 12 kills. Martini and Gagnon both added six kills.
“Jon rolled an ankle last year and we didn't have him for the majority of the season,” said Follett of Dolfi. “Having him 100 percent healthy is huge for us. He's a huge force in blocking and is a consistent hitter.”
Matt Wetzel had 15 assists for Butler.
The Raiders hope to avenge their only loss of the season when they host North Allegheny on Thursday.
“Since the loss to NA, I think we've done a good job of chipping away at these teams,” said Dolfi. “We have a chance to do some really good things.”
Butler will look to get back on track when it visits Fox Chapel Thursday. The Tornado defeated the Foxes 3-2 in the first meeting last month.
“I've scheduled Deer Lakes, Beaver County Christian and Baldwin,” said Liparulo. “They are all very good teams and we play them to prepare us for this section. It's a very tough section.”
