Tigers too much for Tornado
CRANBERRY TWP — In its three previous meetings this season with North Allegheny, Butler's boys volleyball team had managed to keep the majority of sets close with the juggernaut Tigers.
Needing their A-game to have any chance of knocking off NA in Saturday's PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School, the Golden Tornado fell well short in a 25-18, 25-10, 25-17 loss that ended their season.
It was the fourth time this year that Butler was dealt a sweep by undefeated North Allegheny (21-0).
“This was the worst we've played against them this season,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “We did not serve or receive well today. In the second set, we had no kills. In the third set, we had just two.”
The Tornado had kept the first set close, trailing 19-17 late before a 5-point run by the Tigers essentially settled matters.
But it was in the second set that Butler truly had the wind taken from its sails. Senior outside hitter Canyon Tuman dropped a kill to give the Tigers a 12-8 lead. He then stepped behind the service line and by the time he was done, NA's lead had ballooned to 18-8. Two of the points during the run were service aces.
“Canyon went on a run with that jump-serve of his,” said Tiger coach Dan Schall. “That was a big reason why we were able to jump out to that lead. It sparked us.”
The next two times Butler regained the serve, it turned it right back over to the Tigers because of a pair of service errors.
The Tornado were long on two kill attempts and a kill from NA's Jeremiah Zemet helped keep the Tigers rolling. When Butler's Nathan Sespico finally broke the momentum with a block, Butler was staring at a 23-10 deficit. NA closed out the set moments later.
“We moved a few guys around, tried to change things up a bit,” Liparulo said, “but you can just tell from watching video. They (Tigers) are very fundamentally sound and they don't have many weaknesses. Almost all of their players play club. They're a very good team.”
Butler's play improved somewhat in the third set, but the Tornado were limited to just a single point with the serve.
Both Cody Schnur and Nash Bryan had five kills to pace Butler, which ends the season with an 18-5 record.
NA received seven kills from three different players — A.J. Schmidt, Jason Stiefvater and Jake Barber.
“A loss is a loss and nobody likes it,” said Liparulo, “but to have five losses with four of them coming against a team as good as NA, it was a good season. The kids worked really hard.”
“Butler had a really good team this year. They were tough to play with their scrappiness,” said Schall. “Lew's teams are always tough.”
North Allegheny, which recently won its second consecutive WPIAL crown, reached the state championship match last year before falling to Central York.
“Just the experience of having gone through that, it's made us a more mature group,” Schall said. “These guys are resilient.”
