Tigers netters sweep past SV
JACKSON TWP – The Seneca Valley boys volleyball team was a bit off its game Monday night.
When you're playing North Allegheny, that will get you swept.
The Raiders were in every game, but came up short by scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 25-22.
The match was between two WPIAL Section 2 heavyweights, and both entered the night at 2-0 in section play.
"I was surprised it was a sweep," said Tigers coach Dan Schall. "All three games were very close and it could very easily have been 3-0 Seneca Valley."
It was the first loss overall for the Raiders (4-1, 2-1).
"Passing was the difference tonight," said Seneca Valley coach Jeff Beavers. "We had some breakdowns in our passing at critical times.
"We're a good team, but we're not to the point yet where we can overcome those mistakes."
After falling behind 2-1 the Raiders opened up strong in the third contest.
SV held a 13-7 advantage after 12 service games and led 19-14 a bit later.
Trailing 21-18 and with Russ Hoburg behind the service line, the Tigers reeled off six consecutive points to take a 24-21 edge.
Included in the run were two pivotal kills by Brett Alexander and a possession-saving block by Kevin Vater.
The Raiders forced a side-out, pulling to within 24-22, but they lost the game when Vater answered with a kill for NA.
"After the first two games, we changed the lineup a bit to see what happened," said Beavers. "But we just don't have that killer instinct right now."
Schall said a turning point in the match came at the end of the first game.
In a back-and- forth contest, the Raiders held serve and a 24-21 lead before Hoburg's kill gave the Tigers possession.
Hoburg then stepped behind the service line and scored the final four points of the game.
"I told our guys that if we didn't get a few timely blocks at the end of that first game, it would have been a different story," said Schall. "But we were fortunate enough to get some momentum going at the right time."
The Tigers followed up the first game by turning a 4-4 stalemate into an 18-13 lead they rode to victory.
North Allegheny (3-1, 3-0) entered the night ranked sixth in the WPIAL and 12th in the state.
Junior outside hitters Adam Beebe and Dan Follett contributed nine and seven kills, respectively for SV.
Alexander had 12 kills for the Tigers.
