WEXFORD — In a match in which it scored 97 points, it was a point that never came that was the difference for Seneca Valley.

The Raiders led WPIAL champion Baldwin 14-12 in the fifth and final set of a PIAA Class AAA girls volleyball semifinal meeting Saturday afternoon at North Allegheny High School.

A kill from Highlanders' sophomore outside hitter Maddie Sgattoni gave the serve back to Baldwin, cutting its deficit to 14-13.

The Highlanders then reeled off three straight points, the final one coming on a service ace from Hannah Scott, to advance to the state semifinals with a 25-13, 20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 16-14 victory over the Raiders.

“This match was so close, I don't think there was any one thing that made the difference,” said SV junior middle hitter Melissa Carter, who had eight kills. “There are times when you get kills and other times when you make an error. But that was the case for both teams.”

The fifth set was tight throughout and Baldwin coach Chris Kelly believes his team's win was due to intangibles.

“I don't think it was anything that was visible on the court,” he said. “It was the attitude of our girls. No matter what the score is, they are steady and are just focused on getting the next point. That's their mentality.”

“The whole team came to play with heart today,” said Raiders' coach Karen Martini. “But even with that, a game can go either way.”

Baldwin (21-0) defeated the Raiders 3-2 in the WPIAL semifinals Oct. 30 and went on to claim the tenth district title in the program's history.

The Highlanders led Saturday's match two sets to one, but Madeline Poirier led a rally for the Raiders. The junior outside hitter tallied five kills in the fourth set alone and SV received a service ace from Kate Davis to close out a two-point win and force a fifth set.

The match began with Baldwin appearing to be the dominant team as it jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first set. The Raiders hurt themselves with double-hit and net violations and did not tally a point with the serve until the very end of the 12-point loss.

“Seneca Valley is the best team we have played this year,” said Kelly. “We struggled to create separation with them in the WPIAL playoffs. We knew it was important to get off to a quick start today and we did that.”

The Raiders, however, rebounded nicely in the second set. Poirier dropped three kills and managed back-to-back service aces that gave SV a 22-17 lead before earning the win that tied the match at one set apiece.

“I think we were tight coming in,” said Martini. “We needed to loosen up. Once we did, we played much better. I really do believe that these two teams are as even (as the two meetings indicate).”

Sgattoni had a game-high 15 kills. Poirier led the Raiders with 14 kills and Sydney Martini added nine.

Seneca Valley (19-5) won the Section 3 title.

“I'm so proud of us,” Carter said. “The seniors (Sydney Martini and Bre Damiani) did a great job. There was a lot of leadership and cooperation on the court.”