Signature win
Butler boys volleyball ends drought vs. SV

By Josh Rizzo
Eagle Staff Writer

BUTLER TWP — There was no close call this time. Wanting a win against a Section 2-AAA heavyweight, the Butler boys volleyball team put its foot down.
Twice this season, the Golden Tornado lost five-game matches against section foes North Allegheny and Fox Chapel.
Against Seneca Valley Tuesday night at Butler High School, Butler made sure the Raiders couldn't force a fifth game.
Robert Kunst had a big kill and a Seneca Valley attack error help Butler win 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 26-24).
It was the Golden Tornado's first win over the Raiders in several seasons. Butler coach Lew Liparulo can't remember the last time it happened.
Not that Golden Tornado junior Chris Fiorina is satisfied with hurdling one roadblock.
Fiorina, who had a team-high 13 digs, hopes it's the first of many for the Golden Tornado (6-2, 4-2).
“It's a huge confidence boost, but we need to go beat the big teams,” Fiorina said. “We need to move on and keep playing the way we have been.”
Butler led 17-13 in the fourth game before Seneca Valley (4-4, 3-3) rallied to tie it at 24. Kunst followed with a kill to give the Golden Tornado control.
“It's a big step for our program. It's been a while since we beat Seneca,” Liparulo said. “We've had a lot of close matches with them, but it's been awhile since we defeated them.”
Mike Jones keyed the Raiders in the first game, leading Seneca Valley with five kills. After the first game, Butler made fewer attack errors and limited Jones' chances.
“I thought the blocking stepped up in the past few games,” said Butler setter Andrew Paterno, who finished with 41 assists. “When the blocking steps up, you can't do much.”
Seneca Valley just never got back into a groove on offense.
“We went with a different offense. You could tell it was better, but we missed opportunities,” Raiders coach Dan Follett said. “We didn't take advantage of opportunities to point score. That was the difference.”
In Games 2 and 3, the Raiders had no answer for Matt Huey. Huey unleashed several wicked spikes and finished with a game-high 26 kills.
“We started playing more clean and filled in the gaps when the balls were dropping,” Liparulo said. “Our serve-receive got better. And when that gets better, our attack got better.”
In the second and third games, Butler started on big runs.
The Golden Tornado got in front 4-1 in the second game and 6-1 in the third set.
“I think we serve-received better and cut down on the errors throughout the game,” Fiorina said. “Huey stepped up his game and everybody helped each other out.”
John Price led the Raiders with 13 kills, while Zach Lyman had 10.
Follett thinks as his young team gets more experience, Seneca Valley will continue to improve.
“We had four sophomores see significant time in high pressure situations,” Follett said. “It was good to see them score and play well, but not lose composure, too.”