ROSS TWP — it will go down as another 3-0 win for the North Allegheny boys volleyball team in a season full of them.

But this wasn't just another Tiger sweep.

Butler made North Allegheny earn it.

The Golden Tornado had big leads deep into two of the three sets, only to watch the Tigers launch rallies to overcome them.

It led to a hotly contested 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 win for North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals in an equally hot North Hills Middle School gym.

“Obviously, we'd like to have the W,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “They put on a performance that they should be proud of.

“I'm very pleased with the way they played,” Liparulo added. “They gave it their all.”

From the opening serve to the last, the Golden Tornado seemed to have a little extra spring in their step.

That resulted in an early 6-4 lead in the opening set.

North Allegheny erased that advantage and led 14-11, but Butler stormed back to tie it at 14-14 before NA took the lead for good.

The second and third sets were even more competitive.

Butler led 15-11 at one point in the second game and 18-12 in the third, but the Tigers rallied each time.

“That was good,” said North Allegheny coach Dan Schall. “It was a great test of character. I thought we were resilient. There's nothing wrong with testing your courage a little bit against a team we have a lot of respect for.”

And a lot of familiarity.

It was the third meeting between the two teams with NA (18-0) winning all of them. All three losses this season for Butler (15-3) have come against the Tigers, who have now won 54 consecutive sets.

“Sometimes you're just a little unlucky,” Liparulo said. “But they're a very very good team, and I think we are, too.”

Schall said the teams know each other so well that it made a close match inevitable.

“Whenever you're playing a team repetitively, it gets tougher to match that,” Schall said. “They're looking for things that work for them and we're trying to stay on top. They're really good and I thought they played a gutty match tonight.”

Nash Bryan had nine kills and was also a force in the back row for the Tornado.

Cody Schnur had eight blocks as Butler frustrated NA's hitters at times.

“That's a phenomenal number,” Liparulo said of Schnur's block count.

“We made more hitting errors than we typically do, but a lot of that had to do with what they were doing against us,” Schall said.

Butler still has a chance to advance to the PIAA playoffs.

The Golden Tornado will take on Seneca Valley in a consolation match at 6 p.m. Thursday at Baldwin High School.

“We'll see who gets to go to states,” Liparulo said. “It should be another barnburner. If we play like this, I feel pretty good about it.”