Tornado rally for sweep
BUTLER TWP — A deficit on the scoreboard rarely fazes the Butler boys volleyball team.
It certainly didn’t Wednesday night against Upper St. Clair.
The Golden Tornado trailed in each set against the Panthers — including a 12-5 hole in the third — but rallied all three times for a 25-21, 25-23, 25-20 sweep.
“This team has not stopped,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “I think our win against Shaler was a real motivation for them. They were down 2-0 and came back and won. I think they know the hole’s never too deep.”
Butler (6-2) trailed 5-2 early in the first set and 16-15 before pulling away.
The Golden Tornado was down again 12-10 in the second set before rolling off six straight points to wrest the momentum away. Then they overcame that large seven-point hole in the third set with an 8-1 run to draw even and eventually toppled the Panthers.
As the match wore on, junior Nash Bryan got better in Butler’s speedy offense.
Bryan finished with 14 kills and six aces.
He had help.
Junior Cody Schnur added 10 kills, Tyler Ranking 28 assists and junior Connor Chapla added five kills.
“The nice thing going on is Nash had a good night — Nash has a good night every night — but Schnur had 10 kills and then Connor had five. What’s starting to happen is we’re starting to build all the areas.
“We run a fast offense,” Liparulo added, “and tonight it wasn’t as smooth as it has been, but they maintained the edge and kept going.”
Schnur and Andrew Chwalik also each had four blocks and Nick Penrod had six digs for the Golden Tornado.
Bryan, though, was a force, especially in the second and third sets.
“Usually when the competition is higher ... I step it up,” Bryan said. “In a tight game, that’s when I usually ramp it up.”
Butler will face Seneca Valley at home Tuesday in a big section matchup.
The Golden Tornado are eager to put a dent in the top two teams in the section, the undefeated Raiders and undefeated North Allegheny. Those two teams play tonight.
“They’re hungry,” Liparulo said. “People do not realize in our section it’s tough. It’s tough in football. It’s tough in basketball. It’s tough in track. Every night’s a battle. It’s good volleyball, and when we pick up our exhibitions, we don’t pick up easy victories. I’m not worried about if I have x-amount of wins. I want our team to grow each game.”
