JACKSON TWP — It was a monumental win for the Butler boys volleyball team in more ways than one:

The victory was against rival Seneca Valley on the road.

The triumph was the 200th for coach Lew Liparulo and the program.

And the 25-14, 13-25, 25-14, 25-23 win over the Raiders put Butler (9-1, 5-1) firmly in second place in the section behind unbeaten North Allegheny.

“It was an important match for both teams,” Liparulo said. “We serve-received very well tonight. They held their ground and didn't fold — Seneca Valley is a very good team. It was a nice win for our kids.”

And it was a milestone one for a program Liparulo started 25 years ago. It also served notice that the Golden Tornado are legitimate contenders for a section crown.

“My record isn't stellar,” Liparulo said, smiling. “It's a little over .500 after this year, but we've come a long way. That's something I don't worry about. It's nice that we can stand up against every team we play against.

“It's always good to beat Seneca,” Liparulo added. “What can I say? I'm happy.”

Butler had a lot to be giddy about against Seneca Valley in what turned out to be a match of extremes.

The Golden Tornado rolled in the first set, 25-14, taking advantage of a slew of Raider errors.

But Seneca Valley turned the tables on Butler in the second set with a rout of its own, 25-13.

That set up a key third set that Butler seized control of from the start with three quick points.

The Tornado led 19-9 at one point and cruised to the 25-14 win.

Butler excelled at keeping points alive — including a pair of kick-saves.

Stingy defense and crisp passing was an emphasis in practice for the past several weeks, said senior outside hitter Nash Bryan.

“We spend about 45 minutes every day on serve-receive,” Bryan said. “Obviously it's a very important part of the game. If you don't have a pass, you don't have anything.”

That was the fate that befell Seneca Valley, which struggled in the serve-receive game.

The Raiders' leading passer only had six.

“Our passing was off all night,” said Seneca Valley coach Karen Martini. “You can't win if you can't pass. That was our downfall.”

Bryan had his usual stellar night at the net for Butler with 21 kills and Tyler Rankin had 28 assists.

The Tornado offense was more diverse, however — another emphasis since the lone loss of the season less than two weeks ago to North Allegheny.

Butler got some key kills from John Chapla, Andrew Chwalik and Cody Schnur — including the match-winner in the fourth set, the lone close game of the night.

“For the last three practices we've been trying to diversify the attacks more,” Bryan said. “Most of the balls previously were going to me. We're trying to spread it out as much as possible and it's been working out for us so far.”

The two team teams are very familiar with one another.

Many of the players are teammates on club teams during the summer.

Bryan was thrilled he gets bragging rights — for now. The two teams will play again this season.

“It's always fun to play against your teammates,” Bryan said, smiling. “It adds a little spice, to it. It's always fun to beat your teammates, too — you get to rub it in their faces a little bit.”

One of Bryan's club teammates, Kyle Martini, led Seneca Valley with 18 kills. Daniel DeGraaf added 10 kills for the Raiders.

They weren't enough to stem the tide in a disheartening loss for the Raiders.

Martini's message to her team after the game was simple.

“Serve and pass,” Martini said. “If we can't do that better it's going to be a long season.”