How Cam Mueller led Seneca Valley volleyball in a strong finale to regular season
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Butler's Campbell Clouse (33) sets the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Raina Lewandowski (23) serves the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Lila Skarbek (17) strikes the ball during a girls volleyball game against Butler at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Cameron Mueller (7) serves the ball during a girls volleyball game at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Raina Lewandowski (23) sets the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Sheridan Gallagher (13) celebrates after a set during a girls volleyball game against Butler at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Molly Thompson (18) and Addison Corbett (4) leap to block the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Payton Fisher (5) hits the ball during a girls volleyball game against Butler at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Raina Lewandowski (23) hits the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Sophia Slaugenhoup (17) serves the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Raina Lewandowski (23) spikes the ball as Seneca Valley's Rylie Lesack (24) and Molly Thompson (18) leap to block the shot during a girls volleyball game at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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The Butler volleyball team huddles before a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Kennedy Hummert (1) serves the ball during a girls volleyball game against Butler at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Emerson McGarrah (10) prepares to serve during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Natalie Baldauf (15) and Raina Lewandowski (23) block the ball during a girls volleyball game against Seneca Valley at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Addison Corbett (4) spikes the ball during a girls volleyball game against Butler at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Cameron Mueller (7) during a girls volleyball game against Butler at Butler Senior High School, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
BUTLER TWP — Not that it was needed, but Seneca Valley made a good statement toward receiving a WPIAL 6A girls volleyball wild-card berth Thursday night.
Senior outside hitter Cameron Mueller stated a good case of her own along the way.
The Raiders (11-5, 2-4) wrapped up the regular season with a 3-0 victory over Butler in the Golden Tornado’s gym. The scores were 25-16, 25-15, 25-19. The WPIAL volleyball playoff meeting is set for Friday.
“We beat every team in the other section, so I’m hoping we get in at No. 3,” SV coach Brett Poirier said. “Everybody was able to get into the game tonight and Cam played particularly well.
“She had 12 kills in the first set alone. She was just on it.”
Mueller wound up with 22 kills and five aces for the night. She is approaching 900 kills for her high school career.
“My goal is to reach 1,000, so we need a few playoff games to make that happen,” Mueller said.
A two-year captain and four-year starter for the Raiders, Mueller has been playing volleyball “as soon as I could walk,” she said.
Her parents were high school volleyball coaches in South Dakota — where her extended family still lives — before her immediate family moved to the Cranberry area when she was in kindergarten. Mueller has been playing club volleyball for Pittsburgh Elite for 10 years.
Volleyball is the only sport she plays.
“My parents never forced volleyball on me,” Mueller said. “They wanted me to grow to love it on my own ... and it worked.
“Tonight was a pretty typical match for me. I usually get around 20 kills or so.”
Mueller is committed to Rollins College, a Division II school in Winter Park, Fla. She plans to major in business marketing and to continue producing on the volleyball court.
“Too early to come up with any goals there, but I’m looking to playing for a long time yet,” she said. “My ultimate goal is to coach volleyball at the elite level. I’ve been doing some club coaching the past couple of years and I’m going to coach for a club in Winter Park once I get down there.
“I’m trying to arrange an internship with the (professional volleyball) Orlando Valkeries. I’m still working on getting things lined up there.”
Poirier said Mueller and senior setter Sheridan Gallagher have been the leaders of a team this year that features 11 sophomores and eight freshmen on the 27-player roster. Sophomore outside hitter Addison Corbett tallied 10 kills and junior Lila Skarbek had six.
“We’ve got some sophomores who can play and that bodes well for the future,” Poirier said. “But losing Cam and Sheridan will be big shoes to fill. We’re gonna miss them.”
Butler (1-16, 0-6) did not take a lead Thursday night until early in the third set. That set was tied 13 times — the last at 18-18 — before Seneca Valley scored six of the match’s final seven points.
A kill by Raina Lewandowski, an ace by Emerson McGarrah, a kill and ace by Sophia Slaugenhoup helped the Tornado take a 13-9 lead in the third set before the Raiders rallied.
“We kept playing hard ... I’m proud of the way our girls fought all year,” Butler coach Halee McCance said. “WPIAL 6A volleyball is no joke and we have 14 freshmen on the team. There’s a lot of upside here.”
Lewandowski paced Butler with eight kills. Slaugenhoup had six kills and Natalie Baldauf had four blocks.
Lewandowski secured her 750th career kill during the second set. She remains undecided on a destination, but plans to play collegiately.
“Raina has been such a joy to coach, a true competitor,” McCance said. “When a coach is lucky enough to coach such a quality player and person ... There’s not much more you can say.”
