Stumbling block
BUTLER TWP — Able to stave off defeat once, Butler's boys volleyball team came up just short in its attempt to do it in back-to-back sets.
Trailing Shaler 2-1, the Golden Tornado were on pace to forcing a fifth set and led the Titans 16-12 in the fourth.
But the Titans rediscovered their prowess at the net. Kills by Marty Stanton, Dom Rossi, Joe Gannon and Logan Peterson helped Shaler tie Butler at 23.
With teammate Jeremy Maurer behind the service line, Stanton thwarted Butler's attack with a block for one point, followed by another kill from Rossi that earned for the Titans a 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 victory Thursday night in Butler's gym.
Butler missed practice and two games last week due to COVID-19 concerns. The Tornado (5-5, 4-2) returned to action Tuesday with a win at North Hills.
“It's not just us. There's a lot of teams dealing with the same thing,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “Our passing was good tonight, but we just made too many mistakes.”The Titans are an inexperienced team that has gone through its share of growing pains, evidenced by its 3-5 record. Earlier this month, Butler won a 3-1 decision at Shaler.But the latter's green lineup is also talented.“We had an expectation of coming in here and playing a good match,” said Shaler coach Paul Stadelman. “It turned out to be one of the best, competitive matches of the season.”Ian Weber and Stanton sparked Shaler in the first two sets, during which Butler was never able to sustain momentum for long. The Golden Tornado's longest run in that span was just three points.“We served and received well, but had to go too much to the outside because that was our best option,” said Liparulo. “When they shut that down, we struggled.”The Tornado trailed 23-19 late in the third, but finally had the run that had eluded it up to that point.Six straight points, fueled by kills from Noah Wolford and Tyler Gillis, handed the set and momentum to Butler.The surge continued when Kaleb Proudfoot earned three straight points (a kill and two blocks) early in the fourth set. Butler led for much of it, but Shaler remained within striking distance.“Momentum can flip pretty fast,” said Stadelman, “but we never wavered.”Kaleb Wojnar had 47 assists for Butler, Gillis 17 kills and Carson Stein 26 digs.Weber paced Shaler with 10 kills.With the top four teams in the section making the WPIAL playoffs, Butler is still in good shape.“We expect to make the playoffs,” said Liparulo, “but we hated to lose this one.”The Golden Tornado host Pine-Richland Friday.
