Seneca Valley overcomes slow start to sweep Butler
BUTLER TWP — In terms of the WPIAL Section 1-4A girls volleyball postseason picture, Seneca Valley is concerned with positioning. On the outside looking in, Butler is just trying to be one of the four league teams that advance.
The former helped their case on the road Tuesday night, dispatching the Golden Tornado in three sets by scores of 25-15, 24-13, and 25-22.
The Raiders started off slow. They didn’t lead until halfway through the first set and, after being tied at 13, went on a 12-2 run to close it out.
“There are two things that you can always control on your side — and that’s first touch and serve,” Butler coach Meghan Lucas said. “We weren’t able to do that in the second half of each of the first two sets.
“When that breaks down, it’s not easy to catch up.”
While Seneca Valley was up and down on offense, some constants helped keep them afloat.
“We settled down a little bit in the first set,” Raiders coach Brett Poirer said. “Serving and passing, we’ve been living on that all year. That’s our strongest suit. Offense we had to come along
In the second set, Seneca Valley trailed for only three serves. Late in the series, the Raiders registered seven points in a row, two of which coming on aces by junior defensive specialist Priscilla Rozic.
To earn the sweep, the visitors climbed out of a six-point hole. Before Rozic notched three consecutive aces, Seneca Valley was down, 19-15. The combination of junior right side Katie Craig and senior middle hitter Mia Stohon combined for seven kills in the stretch that followed, sealing the deal.
“(We had) a good rotation at the end, which, obviously, we needed that,” Poirer said. “Syd Dabruzzo had a good night. She held that down well.”
Freshman middle hitter Brynn Cornibe recorded three kills and three blocks for the Golden Tornado. Senior Brynn Morton had three kills and four digs.
“We’re going to keep our head up,” Lucas said. “We’re going to keep working hard ... We’re still trying to make that transition. We’re still trying to get kids to break out of their shell and be the next person to make the next big play.”
Lucas added that there have been some growing pains with mature contributors such as senior outside hitter Maisy Gibson and middle hitter Kaela Malis out with ailments.
“Every day, it’s trying to figure out what lineup is going to click,” Lucas said. “Those are two big missing pieces. Experience brings confidence.”
If the Raiders want to climb, they’ll have to keep it up.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” Poirer said. “It’ll come down to that Pine-Richland game for that second spot (in the playoffs).”
Seneca Valley will entertain the Rams at home on Tuesday. Butler will play them first, hosting Pine-Richland on Thursday.
