BUTLER TWP — The Butler boys volleyball team needed a challenge.

The Golden Tornado certainly got one Tuesday night against Pine-Richland.

Butler came into the section match unscathed this season. The Tornado hadn't even dropped a set on the way to a 4-0 start.

But quickly, Butler found itself down 1-0 to the visiting Rams.

No matter. Butler rallied to win the next three, including a comeback win in the fourth set, to stay undefeated with a 23-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-23 victory over the Rams.

“It's nice to see the kids did not lose themselves in the game,” said Butler coach Lew Liparulo. “They kept their heads and kept coming back.”

Butler (5-0, 3-0) led 14-11 in the first set, but watched Pine-Richland quickly erase that lead and take one of its own at 20-16.

The Tornado came back to tie the game at 23-23, but the Rams' big threat at the net, junior Luke Olson, got a pair of kills to give the Rams the 1-0 lead.

Olson was a problem for Butler all night. He had 21 kills.

“He's a big player,” Liparulo said, a smile widening. “I'm always happy when he's in the back row.”

Butler has its own monster at the net in Nash Bryan.

The senior, who recently became the first player in the 25-year history of the program to record 1,000 career kills, had 26 kills in the win.

He had eight alone in the second set as Butler bounced back to even the match. Bryan had six more in the third-set rout.

Bryan punctuated a comeback in the fourth set with the match-winning ace.

“He wanted it over,” Liparulo said. “And so did I.”

Butler rallied from 20-14 down to keep Pine-Richland from forcing a fifth and deciding game.

“Tonight was very big for us,” Bryan said.

Tyler Rankin had 37 assists for the Golden Tornado.

Bryan wasn't the only one involved at the net for the Golden Tornado.

Cody Schnur had big third and fourth sets with nine kills to take some of the pressure of Bryan.

“Cody started picking up on the kills, but before that point, he had very few sets,” Liparulo said. “You go with what's working. This is an unselfish group and they understand that.”

And Bryan was definitely working, despite some struggles at times.

“As a coach, when they're playing at the level and hitting that hard, you know there's going to be errors,” Liparulo said. “It's part of the game. Do we pull away from him? No. Absolutely not. He's a gamer and he showed that tonight.”

Butler may have also showed it can gut out wins as easily as they can roll to wins.

“They need to know they can be in the fire and still come out,” Liparulo said. “Tonight they were definitely in the heat.

“It's a good thing,” the coach added. “Things aren't always going to be easy.”

Butler will face the ultimate test Thursday at North Allegheny.

The Tigers have been one of the strongest programs in the state.

“We're been looking forward to this for the past four years,” Bryan said. “My class, when we were freshmen, have been looking for this team and waiting for this moment. I think we can pull off an upset.”