BUTLER TWP — Nash Bryan went back-first into the net support, ending up laying on the court with pain in his ankle.

The freshman outside hitter for the Butler boys volleyball team benefitted from a timeout called by coach Lew Liparulo in the third set to regain his bearings.

On the first point after the timeout, Bryan finished a kill off the Shaler block, helping the Golden Tornado finish off a sweep of Shaler 25-23, 25-18, 25-16 in a Section 2-AAA match Tuesday night at Butler High School.

Bryan's kill after the timeout put Butler ahead 14-6.

Golden Tornado coach Liparulo is pleased with how Bryan has displayed a wide array of offensive attacks.

“His last kill was left-handed,” Liparulo said. “He went up, it was a tight set on the net. Rather than bang it across out of bounds, he took his left hand and tipped it.”

Rebounding from falls has become a trend for Butler (4-2, 2-2).

The Golden Tornado won their first section match last week by rallying from a two-set deficit to beat Pine-Richland 3-2 on the road.

“Whenever we're behind, it gives us more intensity and helps us play harder to win,” said Bryan, who finished with a team-high 11 kills.

Against the Titans, Butler held off two charges to win a hotly-contested first set.

Butler built a 9-2 lead highlighted by two kills from Bryan and two from Rob Kunst.

Shaler (2-2, 1-2) cut the lead to one point twice, 13-12 and 24-23, but never wrestled the lead away.

“They worked their way through it,” Liparulo said. “This team has been doing that all year. It's early in the year, but they stayed with it and focused on the next point.”

Butler junior Ryan Bargo hit a shot that squeaked through the Titans' block for the winning point.

Shaler coach Paul Stadelman didn't think his team's overall energy was good in the first set.

Having to chase the lead made it tough to rebound.

“I don't think they came out ready to play,” Stadelman said. “I think there's such a thing as coming out loose and being comfortable in the game. We were too loose.”

Shaler took a 5-3 lead in the second set following a kill by Chris McDermott, who led the Titans with 11 kills.

Jace Dadowski also had six kills and two blocks for the Titans.

The Golden Tornado worked back into it and went ahead 10-9 on a net violation.

A kill from Kunst followed by two Shaler attack errors stretched the lead to 13-9.

“This team is very resilient,” said Chris Fiorina, who had 10 kills and two service aces. “The teamwork, these guys all keep each other up and we're playing well. These guys are the best to play with.”

Kunst also had six kills for Butler, while Matt Wetzel led the team with two blocks.

It was the balance the Golden Tornado were looking for.

“Everyone did their job and that was nice,” Fiorina said.