Butler revvs it up vs. the Rams
BUTLER TWP — The beginning was sloppy, but the ending was dominant.
The Butler boys volleyball team remained unbeaten Tuesday night with a 3-0 home victory over Pine-Richland.
"We haven't been in the gym much lately and it showed early in this match," Butler coach Lew Liparulo said. "We were rusty and making a lot of mistakes.
"Toward the end, we were playing the game the way it's supposed to be played. I'm pretty happy with where we're at right now."
The Tornado (3-0) won by scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 25-7.
Before Tuesday's match, Butler hadn't practiced since March 29. The Tornado defeated Shaler two days later, but didn't practice the following night because of player illnesses.
Pine-Richland (0-2) had a 14-13 lead during the first game, only to watch the Tornado score 12 of the next 14 points in cruising to the win.
Xavier Krause and Sam Stuckey had service aces during the Butler spurt. Andrew Soldner closed out the game with successive blocks.
The Rams followed a similar formula in Game 2. Trailing 13-11, they surrendered 12 of the final 18 points to fall behind 2-0.
"We've got a young team with some guys up from the junior varsity for the first time and veteran guys who I've moved to different positions," Pine-Richland coach Greg Lockley said.
"We're in a developmental process right now. As a team, we're learning to compete."
Butler seized total control of the match in Game 3. Three kills and two blocks by senior middle hitter Spencer Koehring helped fuel a start that got the Tornado out to a 13-4 lead. Two kills each by junior setter Doug DeFrancisis and Soldner increased that margin to 18-4.
"We turned it up a notch in that third game," Koehring said. "I don't think (the Rams) were deflated; we just executed our plays better."
Koehring had eight kills and five blocks for the Tornado, who travel to North Allegheny Thursday night.
"Spencer was 6-foot-0 as a freshman and he's 6-5 now," Liparulo said. "His game has come a long way."
DeFrancisis had six kills to go with his 23 assists.
"Doug is really quick and he anticipates the play well," Liparulo said. "He gets to the front of the net and puts himself in position to make plays. He's just a great athlete."
Josh Houston paced Butler with nine kills, Mike Dreher added six kills and Dylan Snodgrass had 15 passes.
Jon Thompson paced Pine-Richland with six kills while Tyler Conlon added five kills and an ace.
"I was pleased with our serves tonight," Liparulo said. "We only made maybe one or two bad ones. You don't want to give away points to anybody."
Pine-Richland is in its seventh year of volleyball. The Rams won their section in Class AA three years ago before returning to Triple-A status.
"We're simply trying to improve right now," Lockley said. "Elevating our play to this level will take some time."
