BUTLER TWP — Seneca Valley needed a spark.

It was provided by an unlikely source.

Trailing 19-10 in the second set of its Section 2-AAA boys volleyball match against Butler, SV coach Dan Follett decided to give backup setter Anthony Sprentz some playing time.

All the sophomore did was help the Raiders rally to a 27-25 victory en route to a sweep of the GoldenTornado on Tuesday at Butler High School.

Seneca Valley claimed the first set by a 25-19 margin and closed the match with a 25-22 win, but the second-set triumph allowed the Raiders (3-4, 3-3) to seize control of the match and tie Butler (4-3, 3-3) for third place in the section standings.

“That set really brought the momentum back to our side of the court,” said Follett. “I have to give credit to Anthony Sprentz. He came in and didn't give up and ran the offense how I wanted him to.

“We needed to make a change emotionally and he did a very good job bringing the team back together, bringing the level of play back up.”

Sprentz tallied five assists in the second set, before starting setter Bradley Hart — who recorded 16 assists — took over in the third to finish the match.

Seneca Valley jumped on the Tornado early in the first set, using a 10-1 run to build a 14-5 cushion. Taylor Matthews had three blocks during the surge, while Zach Lyman provided an ace among his seven service points.

Matthews and fellow middle hitter Mike Jones were a focal point to Seneca Valley's success.

“We knew we had some mismatches in the middle of the court and we wanted to continue to exploit that throughout the game,” said Follett. “Taylor Matthews and Mike Jones both blocked the ball and attacked the ball very well. Our defense, led by Tyler Blinn and Kris Bair, did a good job behind them of doing the unsung-hero kind of work.”

Butler closed the gap to 22-19 on Robert Kunst's third kill of the set, but the Raiders managed to finish off the Tornado with three straight points.

“They're a good team,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “We just didn't match up well.”

The Tornado quickly bounced back in the second set for a 10-4 advantage and maintained the six-point edge until Brandon Wampler recorded three straight kills and pushed it to 19-10.

However, the Raiders responded with a 5-0 run and forced Butler to call timeout leading 19-15. The Tornado earned three of the next four points for a 22-16 cushion, but lost their hitting stroke as SV came storming back to tie it at 23.

Patrick Messmer and Alex Snyder combined for a block to give the Raiders their first lead of the set at 26-25 before claiming the win.

“Sometimes, it's a momentum sport and sometimes you just don't have it,” said Liparulo.

It appeared Butler shook off the disappointing defeat with a 4-1 spurt to start the third, but Seneca Valley answered with a 6-0 run and never relinquished the lead.

The Tornado didn't go down easy — trimming a 20-14 deficit to 22-20 — but the Raiders held on after Josh Creese supplied the match-clinching kill with an assist from Hart.

“I liked that we closed it out in three and could get out of here,” said Follett. “We are getting better.”

Andrew Paterno racked up 23 assists for the Tornado, while Luke Bryan had 10 passes and Wampler a team-high seven kills.

Butler was coming off a 3-1 loss to Fox Chapel, which sits second in Section 2-AAA.

“Basically, it's our second game in a row that we've lacked consistency toward the end of the game,” said Liparulo. “It was all facets of the game. I won't speak negatively of my team, because they work hard. But tonight was not a good indication of their playing ability.

“We have to pick it up.”