MURRYSVILLE — Silver is nice, but gold was the only goal for the Seneca Valley volleyball team.

After finishing second the past two years, the Raiders broke through against defending champion Pine-Richland in a five-game thriller to win the WPIAL Class AAA championship on Saturday at Franklin Regional High School.

Seneca Valley beat the Rams by scores of 26-28, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25 and 15-9.

The Raiders seemed to be heading for another silver medal, trailing 8-4 in Game 5, but the senior-laden SV squad wasn't about to let another WPIAL title slip away.

“The seniors — all seven of us — we're a really tight group and we've been through this,” said SV senior Cate Seman. “We didn't want silver again. We didn't want to have that second-place feeling, so we did everything we could to make sure that we secured our gold.”

Fellow senior Alex Karika, who finished with 45 assists and 10 kills, shared the sentiment.

“It's amazing,” she said. “We've lost the past two years. I didn't want another silver and no one else did.”

Once the Raiders made it 8-5, sophomore Angela Seman reeled off eight straight service points.

“The nerve-racking moment for me was 8-4 in Game 5,” said SV coach Karen Martini. “I didn't stop believing. At that point, we knew if we're ever, ever going to stand up ... it was going to be that moment.”

Meghan Drambel, a senior, picked up three consecutive kills to draw the decisive game even at 8 apiece.

“We just wanted it,” said Drambel, who led the Raiders with 20 kills. “We wanted it, so we stepped it up and played our game and had fun.”

From there, the Raiders never relinquished control.

“I can't even describe it. It feels so good,” said Drambel of winning the WPIAL. “We've been wanting this since we were freshmen, and finally — my senior year — we got it.”

With the SV fans on their feet, sophomore middle hitter Abigail Trzeciak finished off the Rams with the championship-clinching kill.

“It felt really good because I knew my team was behind me and we worked so hard to get here,” said Trzeciak. “We finally came through.”

The SV triumph avenged last season's loss to Pine-Richland in the WPIAL final, although the Rams were as close as could be to a repeat performance.

“We came in here and played hard and we just didn't win,” said Pine-Richland coach Emily Walker. “That's devastating, but you have to tip your cap to them because they played very well.”

Momentum was continually swinging during the marathon match, but it all came down to SV's come-from-behind effort in Game 5.

“Every point in that fifth game is so critical. There's just a shorter period of time to get to that ending point at 15 as opposed to 25,” said Walker. “We just had to take care of business earlier.”

P-R wishes it could have Games 2 and 3 back, but SV had a chance to close the match in Game 4. The squads were tied at 23, but the resilient Rams kept their title hopes alive.

“I thought Game 4, we had them,” said Martini with a grin. “My girls just like to make it interesting.”

P-R pulled out Game 1 after Walker took a timeout trailing 24-22. The Rams staved off two game points and claimed the 28-26 victory on a kill from Caitlyn Scioscia, assisted by Hanna Muzzonigro.

Muzzonigro was a pest to the Raiders throughout the match with 38 assists, 11 kills and six blocks. Scioscia paced the Rams with 15 kills, while Chloe DiPasquale and Gabby Olsen chipped in nine apiece.

Cate Seman tallied 18 kills for the Raiders and Trzeciak finished with 13. Laura Thomas had five assists in the crucial Game 5 and finished with 10.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Brown played a huge role in SV's Game 2 win with four kills and two blocks, while Angela Seman was dependable from start to finish at libero with reliable passing and numerous digs.

“I thought we ball-handled extremely well,” said Martini. “I think Angie is the best libero in the WPIAL and she showed it tonight.”

“We could not have achieved this without the younger girls stepping up,” said Cate Seman, who called it a privilege to play with her younger sister Angela. “It's not seven people who won this game. We have 17 who made this happen.”

P-R will look to bounce back in the first round of the PIAA Class AA tournament on Tuesday at Penn State Behrend against District 10 champion McDowell at 7 p.m.

“Hopefully, the girls can get over this over the weekend and we'll refocus,” said Walker.

The Raiders will begin their quest toward a PIAA title on Tuesday at Brashear High School against City League champion Obama Academy at 7:30 p.m.

“A WPIAL title is nice,” said Martini, “but we really want a state title.”

Notes: The teams split their regular season meetings. ... This is the first WPIAL title for SV since 2004.