Timely Timeout
BUTLER TWP — Twice this season, the Seneca Valley boys volleyball team has met with defeat after dropping the fourth and fifth set.
Raiders' coach Karen Martini had an ominous feeling late in the fourth set of Wednesday's regular-season finale at Butler.
A kill from Butler's Nathan Sespico gave a 21-19 lead to the Golden Tornado, who trailed in the match, two sets to one. Martini called a timeout.
“I told our guys that we aren't going to win tonight if we let it get to a fifth set,” said Martini. “It happened to us against Shaler and Bethel Park this season. That was exactly why I called the timeout.”
The Raiders responded by scoring six of the final seven points, sealing a 3-1 win by scores of 25-20, 24-26, 25-19 and 25-22.
Butler's defeat kept it from qualifying for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
“Seneca Valley's a good team,” said Tornado coach Lew Liparulo. “In the end, we scored a few less points, but I thought the play was pretty even tonight.”
Following SV's timeout, Butler held a 22-21 edge before Luke Trzeciak's kill handed the serve back to the Raiders and they never gave it up. Two errant kill attempts by the Tornado and a kill from Kyle Montrose ended the match and Butler's season.
The Raiders will enter the playoffs as the third-place team from the section.
“We knew coming in here that Butler (6-11, 4-8) was going to be hungry,” said SV senior hitter Colin Uher, who contributed 10 kills to the win. “Nobody wants to see their season come to an end and they had every reason to fight for it, but we found a way to pull it out.”
The Raiders (9-5, 8-4) were on the verge of taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match, but Butler received a kill from Dennis Goodwine and a block from Luke McEachin to help close out the second set. Goodwine had four of his 11 kills in the win.
“We focused very well in that set,” said Liparulo. “In a set decided by two or three points, that means there were a few less errors on our part.”
The third set was up for grabs until SV's run of six points put it up 23-17.
Trzeciak and Montrose both had 12 kills for the Raiders. Logan Donnel tallied nine kills for Butler.
The Raiders have had more than their share of adversity this season.
“Greg O'Connor has been out for much of the season and he was just cleared this week,” Martini said of the senior defensive specialist who saw action in the final two sets Wednesday. “He's a ball of energy on the court and should be ready to go for the playoffs.
“We had two straight weeks where we had only six or seven guys at practice because of injury and illness.”
SV has emerged from a tough section that includes defending WPIAL and PIAA champion North Allegheny and a very good Shaler squad.
“In my opinion, we've played one of the toughest schedules of any team in the WPIAL,” Uher said. “I have every ounce of confidence in these guys.”
