Butler volleyball closes book on season with win over Mars
BUTLER TWP — Meghan Lucas pulled at thumbtacks and peeled scotch tape, gently removing paper posters adorned with the names of each of the Butler girls volleyball team’s seniors from the gymnasium wall.
For a Golden Tornado group that was left as the odd man out in WPIAL Section 1-4A, the four-set Tuesday night win over Mars that preceded that scene was about as good a final chapter as it could’ve hoped for.
Butler sent the WPIAL Class 3A playoff-bound Planets (8-9) home by scores of 25-15, 26-24, 25-22, and 25-19. The night prior, the Golden Tornado swept Laurel on Senior Night.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of years for our seniors — some of them have been playing for six or seven years,” Lucas said. “It was nice to be able to finish off with two wins for them.”
Butler (9-7) got out to an 8-2 lead in the initial game against the Planets and never trailed. The Golden Tornado pulled away from a 10-all tie in the second set, going up by as much as seven before the visitors climbed back. A pair of Lily Javor aces and a Butler hitting error gave Mars a 24-23 advantage, then a service error leveled the scoreboard out of a home team timeout.
Sophomore Brynn Cornibe closed it out with consecutive kills after that as the crowd livened up.
“I think there is a lot of emotion the last time you wear a jersey with your school’s name on it,” Planets coach Tami Caraway said of the momentum wave. “It’s a special thing for a kid to do.”
The Golden Tornado held the edge for most of the third game, but three blocks, a kill, and an ace by Cecilia Christy helped turn the tables in the final third.
“After you drop a set against a team like that — even when you’re up by two — you give them life,” Lucas said. “You have to be really careful about that fourth set and make sure you kind of take care of business. They did that, and I was proud of them.
“They really took them out of their offense with aggressive serving, which was great. They weren’t able to run a whole lot.”
As Lucas alluded to, her side took control following a 6-6 stalemate and wouldn’t fall behind again in the last set.
Overall, junior Audrey Lehman paced Butler with 13 kills, while senior Sarah Szebalskie had seven. The latter also had three aces.
“They played hard,” Caraway said of the opponent. “They played hard every night in section, so they were prepared for that. ... I know they put a lot into it, and maybe have a little bit more to give. They would’ve liked to make playoffs — definitely a good enough team.”
The Golden Tornado’s senior class also includes Hannah Fertig, Ashley Figlioli, Addison Geibel, Kaela Malis, and Molly Wogan.
