BUTLER TWP — The North Allegheny boys volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the state and is getting national recognition.

Butler found out why Tuesday night.

The Tigers dominated the first two games before holding off the stubborn Golden Tornado in the third game for a 25-13, 25-11, 25-22 win.

“They are a very strong team,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “They are ranked No. 1 in the state and supposedly No. 24 in the nation. They're excellent. They don't make mistakes.”

Butler did, however.

The Golden Tornado were out of sync in the first two games, making unforced errors and not communicating with each other on the court, which led to easy points for North Allegheny.

“We played very sloppy the first two games,” Liparulo said. “We're not making decisions.”

North Allegheny (9-0, 9-0) has a way of making teams play poorly.

The Tigers are very balanced on the attack and on defense. Ten different North Allegheny players recorded at least one kill against the Tornado, led by 6-foot-4 junior outside hitter Tommy Keisling, who had 10.

“I think offensively, we're pretty versatile with a lot of guys who have the ability to hit,” said North Allegheny coach Dan Schall. “It makes us a little bit tough to defend. That's one of the things we really stress. That's the dynamic we want. It's like a basketball team where five different guys average 10 points. That's how we do things, and it takes a pretty mature group to do it.”

Butler (9-3, 7-3) bounced back in the third game and led 19-15 at one point before the Tigers regrouped during a timeout.

“I told them in the huddle, ‘They are a lot better than they have played. We got the momentum early, but don't count on it now,'” Schall said. “Game 3, it wasn't that we did anything wrong, they just played better. We have a lot of respect for Lew and his program.”

Liparulo was pleased that his team fought so hard in the final game.

“They seemed to get it together in the third game,” Liparulo said. “We just made a lot of errors, and you don't get second chances against a team like that.”

Xavier Krause was big all night for Butler with 10 kills, but five came in the third game.

“He's one of the very important leaders on the team, not only on the court, but off the court,” said Liparulo of Krause, who plays during the offseason with several players on the North Allegheny roster.

Steve Stauffer added 18 passes for the Tornado.

Despite the loss, Butler is still in the playoffs coming out of a rough section that features North Allegheny and Seneca Valley, the top-two ranked teams in the state.

“There's nothing better,” Schall said. “I'd rather play tough teams and be challenged and even lose than to go through the season without any kind of a push. This helps us, this helps Butler and this helps Seneca Valley for the playoffs, certainly.”

Butler has two more matches, including a showdown with SV May 10.

“We're in the playoffs. We want to see where we end up in the big scheme. We hope they give us a fair shake,” Liparulo said. “Our section is tough, year in and year out.”