JACKSON TWP - Seneca Valley wanted momentum and got it - from two sources.

The Raiders dominated play at the net and used a rambunctious crowd to post a 3-0 boys volleyball triumph over Butler Tuesday night.

The 25-17, 25-22, 25-16 victory pulled the Raiders (9-4, 7-3) into a second-place tie with the Golden Tornado (11-3, 7-3) in Section 2. Both teams are in the WPIAL playoffs, which begin next week.

"This win will help us in the playoff seeding," Seneca Valley coach Jeff Beavers said. "Our fans made a difference tonight. This was home-court advantage and we took advantage."

The only time the Raiders trailed all night was when Chris Falbo and Rick Gonzalez scored consecutive points to give the Tornado a 4-3 lead in Game 1.

Seneca Valley erased that deficit by scoring the next four points, two on blocks at the net by senior Jesse Lopez.

"We worked hard on our blocking and kills all week," Beavers said. "We knew that would be a big factor in this match."

The Raiders jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 7-1 in Games 2 and 3. Trailing 14-7 in Game 2, Butler reeled off five consecutive points - two by Falbo - and eventually cut the gap to 16-15.

But it could get no closer.

"If we come back and get that one, things might have been different," Butler coach Lew Liparulo said of Game 2.

Leading 19-17, Seneca Valley picked up three straight points - two by Dan Beebe, one on a kill by Adam Beebe - and never was threatened again.

Adam Beebe wound up with 12 kills, Lopez seven and Dan Follett with six for the Raiders.

Adam Beebe led Seneca Valley with 15 points.

"Once we got the momentum, we never gave it up," Beavers said. "We were able to ride it all the way through.

"We've improved so much since the last time we played Butler (a 3-1 loss April 19 at Butler). We've been looking forward to this game for a long time."

Seneca Valley has won three straight games and closes the regular season at home Thursday against Bethel Park.

"It's important to us to enter the playoffs on a high note, but both of these teams are in the playoffs anyway," Beavers said. "I wanted our kids to relax and have fun tonight."

The Raiders cruised to a 21-9 lead at one point in the third game.

"Volleyball is all about ball control and we never had that tonight," Liparulo said. "Our serve-and-receive game was terrible.

"This is the worst we've played all season."

The Tornado were swept for just the second time all year. The other was at Section 2 champion North Allegheny.

Tuesday's match ended Butler's regular season. Playoff pairings are expected to be announced Friday.

"Nights like this happen - we just didn't want it to happen tonight," Liparulo said. "We'll deal with it and move on."

Chris Erdos scored 14 points for Butler while Shawn Vincent had 18 assists. Gonzalez had eight kills.

Seneca Valley won the junior varsity game 25-14, 20-25, 15-8.