Kennedy Peffer powers Seneca Valley to section-opening win vs Butler: ‘She’s a leader’
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Seneca Valley bench celebrates a point against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler (3) Sarah Lucas saves a ball against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (30) Elizabeth Petelin celebrates a point against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (10) Sadie Reese tips the ball over Butler (18) Channing Popovich in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (12) Kennedy Peffer spikes the ball past Butler (18) Channing Popovich in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (12) Kennedy Peffer hits the ball over the net against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (12) Kennedy Peffer blocks a ball as Butler (4) Julia Mason sets it in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (4) Ali Eckenrode and (17) Kyla Stepp celebrate after scoring a pointagainst Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler head coach Meghan Lucas talks to her teammate a timeout against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler (9) Taylor Simon celebrates a point against Seneca Valley Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (10) Sadie Reese sets the ball against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler (5) Raina Lewandowski digs the ball against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (12) Kennedy Peffer sets the ball against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (14) Isabella Dudash spikes the ball against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler (21) Ashlan Tosadori blocks a spike from Seneca Valley (14) Isabella Dudash in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley (6) Alaina Hahn and (12) Kennedy Peffer block a spike against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler (4) Julia Mason and (3) Sarah Lucas run into each other while they bump the ball against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Seneca Valley head coach Brett Poirier (left) and assistant coach Megan Kelly celebrate after winning game 2 against Butler in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Butler (20) Brynn Cornibe and (4) Julia Mason celebrate a win in game 3 against Seneca Valley in a girls volleyball game Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at Seneca Valley High School.(Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
JACKSON TWP — Kennedy Peffer knocked down four kills during Seneca Valley girls volleyball’s seven-point run at the end of the third set.
Her big, looping swing from the left side of the offense produced five more at the start of the fourth set — and she contributed to two blocks — to build an 8-0 lead.
Peffer’s power surge didn’t result in a third-set win, but it certainly powered the Raiders to victory in the fourth set and in the first WPIAL match of the season, 3-1 over Butler at home Tuesday night. Set scores were 25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 25-22.
“She’s a leader, she’s one of my captains. She’s 6-foot and she’s a big presence,” Raiders coach Brett Poinier said. “She can give me points and a big block.”
That’s exactly what she did and exactly what Seneca Valley (4-1, 1-0 section) needed to open WPIAL Class 4A, Section II play against a Golden Tornado (4-1, 0-1 section) side that did not give up despite falling behind 2-0.
Butler led just 8-7 early in the third set before going on a 5-0 run. It built the lead further to 22-11 and looked poised to run away with the set.
But the Raiders stormed back. Middle hitter Elizabeth Petelin recorded a kill and block during a short 4-0 run to start a comeback attempt, and then Peffer smashed three straight kills to make it 24-19 Butler. One more kill got SV within two points, but Butler closed out the set with a kill.
“I just think everyone was just swinging with nothing to lose,” Peffer said of the comeback effort. “Honestly, the middle back was cheating a little bit, so I was just trying to tool it off the blocks to (where they weren’t).”
Peffer picked up right where she left off in the fourth set, with nearly every attacking attempt early on finding the floor. She also teamed with Alaina Hahn for two blocks as the Raiders roared out to an 8-0 advantage.
Butler didn’t fold yet again, eventually tying it 17-17, but Eva Beres, Bella Dudash and Petelin had two kills apiece to put the match away for SV.
The surge from Peffer didn’t come as much of a surprise to Poinier, who leaned on the junior captain in the wake of Cami Mueller’s absence due to injury.
“(Peffer is) just always pretty much a happy kid,” he said. “She’s just easy-going, she’s just a good leader. You never look at her and go, why are you down? I went to her halfway through the game, ‘Listen, I need you to put away balls.’ She said, ‘OK coach.’”
She sure did.
Peffer finished with nine kills in the last two sets. Dudash had nine in the first two sets and finished with 14 on the night. Beres had seven kills, Petelin had five blocks and Addison Fowler had 20 digs.
Poinier called Mueller a “presence” on the court and said he hopes to have her back soon.
“I missed her a lot because she definitely has big energy, a big personality,” Peffer said.
Audrey Lehman and Brynn Cornibe were particularly impressive for Butler, especially in the last two sets. Lehman finished with 10 kills and 12 digs, and Cornibe had eight kills.
The Tornado showed resilience despite digging themselves into a deep hole. Coach Meghan Lucas said the team minimized errors during the third set and started to build some momentum.
“We definitely started out slow,” she said. “I know that my team is capable of competing with and beating teams like Seneca Valley. They’re starting to learn how to have confidence in themselves.”
Julia Mason dished out 31 assists and had three aces in the loss. Raina Lewndowski had eight kills, four aces and three digs.
