The Butler boys volleyball team found itself down not once, but twice Thursday at Penn Hills.

The second time, it was either win or go home for the Golden Tornado. Coach Lew Liparulo was pleased with the route his team took.

Butler prevailed 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 15-7 in a WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game.

"We were down two (games) to one," said Liparulo. "But our kids played hard.

"This was a seesaw game, but we never got rattled."

The Tornado (13-4) received seven service aces and 16 kills from Ricky Gonzalez, while Chris Falbo had five blocks and Shawn Vincent tallied 44 assists.

Butler got to the first round with a 3-0 sweep of South Park in a preliminary match on Tuesday.

The Tornado will face Hempfield at a date, site and time to be determined.

Upper St. Clair 3, Seneca Valley 0 -

The host Panthers swept the Raiders 25-19, 25-20, 25-13 in this WPIAL first-round matchup Thursday.

Seneca Valley (8-4) defeated Avonworth 3-0 in a preliminary round Tuesday.

"In the first two games, we stayed with (Upper St. Clair) probably up until 19 points," said Raiders coach Jeff Beavers.

"We didn't pass well tonight. You can't hang with a team like that without an offense."

Despite the loss, the Raiders finished 7-3 in the section and have several key players coming back next year.

"Overall, I was happy with the season," said Beavers. "We started four sophomores and one senior. The team's looking forward to the next couple of years."