BUTLER TWP - The Seneca Valley volleyball team looked to close the section schedule in style.

And Butler was in its way.

The Raiders (9-1) swept the Golden Tornado for the second time this season by scores of 25-8, 25-15 and 25-21 on senior recognition night at Butler High School Tuesday.

SV senior setter Mallory Demarco led the victory with 60 assists, while Laura Dubois and Lindsey Skorupan had 14 and 12 kills, respectively.

Kristi Schutte added 10 service points in the victory.

"I thought our middle played well tonight," said Seneca Valley coach Heather Haff. "Plus, we played some underclassmen tonight, and they did the job. That's always a good thing."

Trailing the Raiders 24-16 in the final game, Butler's Kala Schnur stepped behind the service line and dropped in five straight points before Seneca stopped the run for the win.

Butler outside hitter Ashleigh Huey tallied 26 digs and six kills. Schnur ended the night with 21 assists and seven service points while Kelsey Rice and Amy Achesinski each had four kills.

The Raiders won the first game easily when they opened a 16-5 lead after only four possessions. The Golden Tornado held serve for just one point the entire game.

"Seneca Valley is just a very strong team," said Butler coach Meghan Lucas. "They've got girls with a lot of experience and are solid all around."

The second game proved more difficult, as Butler held early leads of 5-4 and 7-5.

But the Golden Tornado didn't receive any points from their final six servers and the Raiders took advantage of that deficiency.

Seneca Valley will host Plum in a non-section match Thursday night before competing in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

"The last I checked we were (ranked) sixth or seventh in the state," said Haff.

The Raiders' only loss this season was a section match against Pine-Richland.

For the Golden Tornado, this season proved to be another step forward.

After finishing 5-12 in Lucas' first year in 2003, the team improved to 8-8 this year.

"One of our goals was to make the playoffs," said Lucas. "We didn't do that, but we were able to do some things that we can build on next year.

"In fact, we're already looking forward to next year," she added.

Butler's senior players include Huey, Rice, Schnur, Jasmin Mehelich, Michele Miller and Brandie Welch.