The Seneca Valley volleyball team took top-ranked Mount Lebanon to the brink Saturday night in the WPIAL Class AAA championship match.

Catie Seman and Meghan Drambel each had 15 kills as the Raiders bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to nearly pull off the upset.

Seneca Valley, though, dropped a 20-25, 25-27, 26-24, 25-15, 10-15 decision to the No. 1 ranked team in the state.

"I definitely have to tell you I am proud of that," said Seneca Valley coach Karen Martini, who watched her team drop the first two sets only to come roaring back. "It shows a lot of character."

Kelly Tresser added 13 kills and Megan Condit nine for the Raiders, who despite the loss, advanced to the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

There, Seneca Valley will take on Altoona at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Central Cambria High School.

And the Raiders will enter the state playoffs on a high even though it lost the WPIAL championship.

"I don't want this to sound bad, but all year we haven't focused on the WPIAL," Martini said. "We've focused on, 'Let's go farther.' We wanted to get to the state playoffs."

Seneca Valley (17-4), which shared the section title with North Allegheny, got its wish when the Raiders downed the Tigers 3-2 Thursday night.

Now Martini will have to come up with a new goal for her team.

"I don't have to set it — I can tell you what they will say," Martini said. "Find Mount Lebanon again."

That could happen at some point Saturday, should the Raiders get past Altoona.

Seneca Valley would be in Pool A at the state tournament, while Mount Lebanon would be in Pool B should it defeat Schenley.

"If we play our game, I don't think too many teams would want to play us," Martini said.

West Allegheny 3, Freeport 0 — The unbeaten run is over for the Yellowjackets.But not their mission.West Allegheny defended its WPIAL Class AA title with a 25-14, 25-22, 25-20 win over previously undefeated Freeport (18-1).The Yellowjackets, who have won 50 of their last 53 matches over a three-year span, will take on Punxsutawney at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at DuBois High School in the PIAA Class AA playoffs.Cross CountryThe Butler girls cross country team placed 12th as a team in the Class AAA meet at the PIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday in Hershey.Danica Snyder was the top finisher for the Golden Tornado, placing 66th with a time of 20 minutes, 26 seconds.In the Class AA meet, Jessica Bennett of Slippery Rock placed 31st with a time of 20:38. Kayla Zboran of Freeport came in 34th place with a time of 20:44.In the boys Class AA meet, Slippery Rock senior Jacob Spurk finished 32nd with a time of 17:25. Nick Gentile of Freeport came in 62nd with a time of 17:49.In the boys Class AAA meet, Jacob Kildoo of Grove City was the highest local finisher, coming in 45th.Seneca Valley's Andrew Razanauska was 52nd.

BoysClass AAALocal finishers45-Jacob Kildoo (Grove City) 17:00; 52-Andrew Razanauskas (Seneca Valley) 17:06; 107-Daniel Jaskowak (Grove City) 17:35; 210-Grant Brown (Butler) 18:22

Class AALocal finishers32-Jacob Spurk (Slippery Rock) 17:25; 62-Nick Gentile (Freeport) 17:49; 88-Ryan Thompson (Slippery Rock) 18:06; 200-Anthony Miller (Moniteau) 19:01; 207-Bryce Foreback (Karns City) 19:07; 234-Dylan Surrena (Karns City) 19:35

GirlsClass AAATeam results12-Butler (301): 66-Danica Snyder 20:26, 128-Ashton Dolan 20:53, 139-Katresa Savisky 20:58, 148-Alexis Swiergol 21:01, 158-Trisha Brandt 21:07, 197-Ashley Crawford 21:33, 237-Rachel Ferguson 22:06

Other local finishers221-Evyn Seldon (Grove City) 21:50; 228-Becky Consbruck (Grove City) 21:58

Class AALocal finishers31-Jessica Bennett (Slippery Rock) 20:38; 34-Kayla Zboran (Freeport) 20:44