JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley boys volleyball team found itself in a deep hole in Monday's WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals against Fox Chapel.

Down two games and short two of its top players, the Raiders made a spirited rally, grabbing the next two games to pull even.

The fifth and deciding game saw 11 ties, but the Foxes regrouped to pull out a 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 16-14 victory to advance to the semifinals.

"This match could have gone either way, a point here or there," said Seneca Valley coach Jeff Beavers. "It took us two games to re-adjust to our new lineup.

"There was no negativity on the court. It was an honor to coach these guys tonight," Beavers added.

Setter Dan Beebe and weakside hitter Adam Beebe did not play for undisclosed reasons, so sophomore Mark DeMarco and junior Luke McKinney filled in.

"My hat's off to Seneca Valley," said Foxes coach Phil O'Keiffe. "They were missing two of their best players and the way their whole team responded ... if not us, I would have liked them to win (the WPIAL)."

The Foxes played more like the defending WPIAL champions they are than the No. 9 seed in this year's tournament.

Fox Chapel held a 13-12 lead in the first game before scoring eight of the next 10 points to open a 21-14 lead. In the second game, there were 14 ties — the last at 22-all — and neither team led by two points until the Foxes reeled off the final three straight.

Jumping out early was fairly new for the Foxes.

"It was a little different," said O'Keiffe. "Last year in the quarters, semis and finals, we were down in each match and won them all.

"We won the first two games (Monday), but Seneca Valley got some momentum. Won the third set, won the fourth set," he added.

"We'd get one point and they'd get two," Beavers said. "We'd get three points and they'd get four. It took a while to jell with our new lineup."

The Raiders jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the third game and expanded to a 19-14 lead, but the Foxes tied it at 20.

Fox Chapel, however, misfired a serve and McKinney followed with a spike down the line that gave the Raiders a two-point lead. Fox Chapel trailed 24-23, but Justin Hoffman's tap shot over a pair of Foxes defenders gave the Raiders the game.

That gave Seneca Valley (11-4) the spark it needed, and the Raiders used the momentum to take an 11-6 lead in the fourth game.

The Foxes pulled to within 18-17, but Seneca Valley finished the game by snaring eight consecutive points.

In the fifth and final game, Fox Chapel broke an 11-all tie with a pair of points, including a spike by Katich for the lead.

With the score 14-12 and the Foxes at match point, Dan Follett had consecutive spikes to even the game at 14, but Katich had two more spikes to provide the margin of victory.