Cameron Mueller leads Seneca Valley girls volleyball’s dominant attack, beats Butler in WPIAL section opener
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Seneca Valley's Kennedy Hummert (1) passes the ball against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Addison Corbertt (4) and Eva Beres (18) attempt to block a Butler attack in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Payton Fisher (5) dives to save the ball against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Onnicka Congdon (8) defends an attack by Butler's Janessa Robinson (25) in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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SV's Eva Beres (18) in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Cameron Mueller (7) bumps the ball against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley gets a point on a kill against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley and Butler players shake hands after the Raiders win a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley head coach Brett Poirier talks to his team before facing Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley faces Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Ashlan Tosadori (21) attacks the ball against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Raina Lewandowski (23) attacks the ball against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
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Butler head coach Halee McCance talks to her team during a time out while playing Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Seneca Valley High School. Chris Leisie/Special to the Eagle
JACKSON TWP — Cameron Mueller attacks a set with bad intentions.
That was evident Tuesday night in Seneca Valley girls volleyball’s 3-0 WPIAL Section 2-4A-opening victory over Butler at Seneca Valley High School.
When the junior outside hitter gets a set in her sweet spot, she doesn’t often hold back. And during a 25-7, 25-20, 25-19 victory, she unleashed a game-high, unofficial 12 kills — most of them violent down-line attacks.
“She’s our big gun,” Raiders head coach Brett Poirier said.
Mueller, a 5-foot-10 junior captain with collegiate aspirations, made her presence felt to give the Raiders (4-1, 1-0 section) momentum heading into a pivotal section clash Wednesday night against defending PIAA Class 4A champion North Allegheny. She had two of her kills in an opening 7-0 run to start the night and only heated up from there.
Mueller said she’s played club ball for nine years and does plenty of resistance and strength training to keep her powerful right shoulder healthy.
She found particular success attacking the line against an overmatched Butler (4-2, 0-1 section) block, but mixed in a handful of rolls, back-line attacks and cross-court shots throughout the sweep.
“(Hitting line) definitely is a favorite, but I would say because of the amount of sets my middle got, it drew their block over and gave me the opportunity to fake ‘ em out and go line,” Mueller said.
“She’s the total package, she’s my captain, she’s a six-rotation player, she never comes off the floor, she can pass as well as she can hit, serves are tough,” Poirier said.
Mueller added three aces on a night when SV recorded an unofficial 14 against the Golden Tornado.
Her service game was only outdone by classmate Payton Fisher. The outside hitter had a game-high five, including three straight during the Raiders’ 7-0 opening run.
“I felt like it was very deflating,” first-year Butler coach Halee McCance said of the ominous start. “Not at all what I expected after a great weekend at the Shaler tournament where we won, and then to step out here tonight and not put it out there, I’m very surprised. And we got a lot of work to do.”
Seneca Valley opened with the first point of the game to take over the serve, then went on a run led by Fisher’s pinpoint float serve. A 7-0 lead quickly became 12-2, then 19-4.
Butler took early leads in the second and third sets, but never got ahead by more than two points. The Tornado’s longest rally was just four.
“We just played well all the way around,” Poirier said. “We came out with fire, and we just kept it all night.”
Fisher added eight kills to her line.
Butler’s two big attackers, middle hitter Brynn Cornibe and outside Raina Lewandowski, found some success after the first set. Cornibe finished unofficially with a game-high five blocks and added six kills. Lewandowski paced the Tornado with 11 kills and added a block.
But the team struggled to stay in rotation and consistently pass out of defense or on serve-receive.
“Tonight we looked like we were waiting for someone else to do the job instead of doing the job ourselves,” McCance said.
The Raiders have no time to prepare for their toughest test so far this season at NA. Butler has a day to “get back to the drawing board, hard reset,” McCance said, before hosting North Hills at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
