WPIAL Baseball/Softball/Volleyball Playoff Recaps for Tuesday 5/12

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 | 12:34 AM

The curtain went up on the opening round on both the District 7 baseball, softball and boys volleyball postseason on a breezy Tuesday. There was your typical round one mix of thrillers and blow outs as the Quarterfinals were set in baseball AAA and A along with softball AAAA and A and volleyball AAA. Here are recaps from the games heard live and archived Tuesday here on the MSA Sports Network.

A special thanks to Sam Hall, Jason Tennant, Brian Mroziak, Paul Paterra, Mike Azadian, Steve Nagler, Bobby Fox, Sean Meyers, Greg Kuntz, Bob Orkwis, Randy Gore, Dave Floyd and Don Rebel for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL BASEBALL CLASS AAA First Round:

Central Valley Warriors 7 – Mars Fighting Planets 3 
The Central Valley Warriors defeat the Mars Planets 7-3 in a WPIAL first round baseball playoff action in Chippewa. The game was scoreless until the 4th inninig. The Warriors scored 4 runs on only 2 hits, 1 walk, and 3 errors to go up 4-0. Mars came back to score 3 runs in the top of the fifth. With two outs,  Ty Reginelli hit a 3 run triple and the Planets cut the lead to 4-3. However the Warriors would get those three runs back in the 5th as Mars committed another error and blew a run down play that ended in a Warrior steal of home. In the top of the 6th Mars had a chance but bounced into a double play and had runner picked off second to end their inning. In the top of the 7th Mars would get two runners on but not score as the Warrior pitching staff shut them down. Mars finishes 10-9 on the season and Central Valley improves to 14-5. Scott Hughes got the win for Central Valley going 6 innings, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts and 3 runs. He also went 3 for 4 with three singles and an RBI. Christian Sepos and Dallas Jamery both had two hits for Central Valley. The Warriors will play in the second round against the number one seeded Chartiers Valley Colts at a site and time to be determined.

Hopewell Vikings 3 – South Park Eagles 1 
In what turned out to be a terrific pitcher’s duel, Hopewell’s Tim Sabo outlasted South Park’s Brad Collas to allow the Vikings to head into the Class AAA Quarterfinals at Burkett Elementary on Tuesday evening.  Sabo scattered five hits and struck out four in pitching a complete game.  The Vikings scored single runs off of Collas, who also pitched a complete game, in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings.  Griffin Curry, Austin Tisch and Curtis Skelton all collected RBIs for Hopewell.  Skelton would get the run production started with an RBI 2B which plated courtesy runner Tyler Sabo in the 4th inning.  An inning later, Tisch would lift a sacrifice fly to CF which scored Curry and then Curry would knock in a run of his own in the 6th when his RBI single scored Kyle Everette.  Adam Morris had the Eagles’ lone RBI, a sacrifice fly in the top of the 6th inning which cut the Hopewell lead at the time to 2-1.  The Vikings advance and play old section foe West Allegheny in the next round.

West Allegheny Indians 6 – Kittanning Wildcats 0 
The defending WPIAL champs served notice to the rest of the AAA bracket that they will have to be dealt with again this year in an opening round shut down of the Kittanning Wildcats 6-0 at Fox Chapel Tuesday afternoon. West Allegheny got 5 and 2/3 innings of one-hit pitching from Tyler Eritz and three hits and three runs batted in from Nick Wiethorn as they advanced to the quarter-finals. Eritz struck out one and walked three in picking up the win. With two outs in the sixth Eritz gave way to Colin Claus who struck out the first three batters he faced in closing out any hopes Kittanning had of pulling the upset. Wiethorn’s two-out rbi single in the third drove home Danny Guilfoil who had singled earlier in the inning for the only run the Indians would need. Chasen Claus added a sacrifice fly rbi in the fourth inning and then Wiethorn came through again with a two-run single in the fifth. West Allegheny added a pair of runs in the sixth to seal the deal. The Indians improved to 14-6 on the year and advance to the quarterfinals. Kittanning sees their season come to a close at 10-7, Kittanning also sees the program end as the school will be combined with Ford City to form the Armstrong Riverhawks this fall. Wildcats’ starting pitcher Andy Fennell was tough working five innings and allowing four runs on six hits but just could not shut down the defending champs.

Knoch Knights 5 – Belle Vernon Leopards 1 
A four-run outburst in the fifth inning allowed Knoch to break open a tie game, as the second-seeded Knights bested No. 15 Belle Vernon Area 5-1 in Class AAA first-round play at Fox Chapel Area High School. Belle Vernon, which carried a seven-game winning streak into the contest, scored the first run in the top of the third, when Devin Judy plated Jake Callaway on a one-out single. The Knights responded in the bottom of the frame, though, when Dominick Bucko scored on a two-out single by Chris Law to shallow right field. In the fifth, Knoch’s Alex Stobert led off with a single and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, and Addis Crouch followed with a hit to left field that plated the eventual game-winning run. The Knights added plenty of insurance in the inning, though, as Bucko’s groundout later plated Crouch. Following that play, Knoch hitters produced four consecutive singles off the bats of Law, Cole Shinsky, Jordan Kowalski and Asa Adams, adding two more runs to the Knights’ advantage. Stobert made the lead stand, as he closed the door on the Leopards in his 2 1/3 innings of relief. With the win, Knoch advances to the quarterfinals to face Blackhawk.

Blackhawk Cougars 7 – Deer Lakes Lancers 4 
The Blackhawk Cougars jumped out to large lead early on and coasted to a first round victory over the Deer Lakes Lancer at Burkett Elementary in Robinson Township on Tuesday.  They benefitted from clutch hitting by Dante Parente who drove home three runs with a pair of RBI singles in both the 1st and 2nd inning which lead to a 6-0 lead.  The Cougars also benefitted from the wildness of Lancers’ starter Ryan Petrone, who walked five Cougars and uncorked six wild pitches in the two innings that he worked.  The Lancers couldn’t dig out from that early hole even though they battled back.  The Lancers cut the lead to 7-4 with three runs in the top of the 6th inning behind a 2-RBI single by Jake Carnprobst and an RBI double by Scott Ventura, who was 3-3 with two 2Bs and a run scored.  Blackhawk starter Jon Pence kept hitters off balance all day long and ended his 5.2 IP with 9 K’s on the day.  The Cougars now advance to play Knoch in the Class AAA Quarterfinal round.

Montour Spartans 8 – West Mifflin Titans 2 
Go figure. Last year, Montour was the Class AAA #5-seed and were upset by Elizabeth  Forward in Round One. This year, the Spartans entered the postseason as the #14-seed and now they are on to the Quarterfinals after they upset #3 West Mifflin Tuesday 8-2 at the Boyce-Mayview Complex in Upper St. Clair. After having a runner thrown out at the plate on aggressive base running in the first inning, Montour plated two in the second on an RBI single by Zach McGowan and a sac fly by Luc Nolder. West Mifflin scored a run in their half of the second on real aggressive base running by Jake Liposky who walked with two out, stole second and scored when Billy Krull’s throw bounced into center field. The Spartans added to their lead though with unearned runs in the third and fifth innings, a theme to the game thanks to seven Titans errors. Sophomore sensation and LSU recruit Trent Vietmeier drove in both of those runs on a single and a sac fly. Montour chased West Mifflin starter Zach Salmon and put the game away with three runs in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases on two walks and a HBP before a possible double play ball was misplayed off the bat of Kailen Grimm to score two and a fourth single of the game for Krull scored another. Vietmeier was tremendous on the mound in picking up the win for the Spartans, pitching six strong innings while allowing only two unearned runs on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The win improves Montour to 11-9 and matches them up against the Indiana Little Indians in a Class AAA Quarterfinals game next week. West Mifflin, which made a run to the Semifinals a year ago, see’s their Section 4 winning season come to an end with a final mark of 14-5.

Indiana Little Indians 11 – Laurel Highlands Mustangs 1 
Indiana used a 10 run, bottom of the 3rd inning to pick up an 11 to 1 win over Laurel Highlands in a AAA 1st Round game on Tuesday afternoon at Mt Pleasant High School.  Zach Schultz picked up the win on the mound for Indiana giving up only 4 hits and 1 run and helped his own cause at the plate going 3 for 3 with a Triple and 3 RBI’s.  The Little Indians chased Laurel Highlands Starter Zach Uhazie when 8 consecutive Little Indians reached base safely to start the bottom half of the third inning.  Laurel Highlands season ends with a 10-10 record.  Indiana advances to the AAA quarterfinals to take on Montour on Monday.

WPIAL BASEBALL CLASS A First Round:

Western Beaver Golden Beavers 2 – Brentwood Spartans 1 in 8 Innings 
The Brentwood Spartans finally ended a 10-year postseason drought but couldn’t hold on to their 1-run lead late in the game in their opening round matchup against Western Beaver.  With the game scoreless in the 5th inning, the Spartans broke the scoreless tie on a Golden Beavers’ miscue.  With Nathan Christopher on first with two outs, Jared Toth grounded into what looked like a routine 3rd out but SS John Petrosky’s throw was missed by 1B Adam Brozich.  Brozich’s resulting throw to 3B was errant allowing Christopher to score and give Brentwood a 1-0 lead.  Western Beaver, who squandered numerous early chances, was able to tie the score in the bottom half of the 6th inning when Zach McComas scored on a throwing error by pitcher Brandon Mayfield after a bunt single by Hunter Roknich.  The game would remain tied till the bottom of the 8th inning when the Golden Beavers’ Corey Chaffee would lead off with a 2B.  Chaffee would eventually come around to score on the 2-out RBI single off of the bat of Austin Allison, his only hit of the game.  Western Beaver’s Cody Acon pitched all 8 innings for the win, striking out two in the process.  Western Beaver now advances to play top-seeded California in the Class A Quarterfinals.

Serra Catholic Eagles 2 – Bentworth Bearcats 1 
Sophomore Cole McCombs pitched 6 & 2/3 innings of no hit ball and senior Zac Quattrone drove in both Eagles runs and picked up the save for Serra in this WPIAL Class A first round matchup at North Allegheny. Noah Kinser drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first off of Bentworth sophomore Riley Nickeson. Parker Janosko sacrificed Kinser to second and Quattrone drove in the game’s first run with a single. Nickeson and McCombs then locked up in a pitcher’s duel before the Eagles made it 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ben Davis reached on an error and this time Kinser laid down the sacrifice bunt to push the runner into scoring position. Janosko singled Davis to third where he scored on Quattrone’s fielder’s choice grounder to second base. McCombs entered the top of the seventh inning allowing only two walks and another base runner when Bentworth’s only senior Tim Kurutz reached first on what was scored an error after a low throw eluded the glove of Serra first basemen John Fazio. McCombs struck out the first two batters in the inning giving him 4 consecutive strikeouts and 6 K’s in seven batters. But the Bearcats battled to scratch together a rally after catcher John Hughes walked. Taylor Bunner stroked a line drive single to leftfield and Nickeson drew a walk to load the bases. McCombs then hit Nick Silver with a pitch to score Hughes and make it a 2-1 game. McCombs, who threw two no hitters as a freshman, said after the game that “I just ran out of gas”. Quattrone came on in relief and with the bases loaded; he struck out Klint Wingertsahn to pick up his first save of the season. McCombs finished with 11 strikeouts and improved to (3-2) with the win. Bentworth, seeded 12th in the tournament finished the year with a (14-5) record. #5 Serra improved to (15-5) with the win and the Eagles get a rematch with Section 2A foe Jeannette in the quarterfinals. The Jayhawks upset OLSH to reach the round of eight. Jeannette and Serra split the two game regular season series, with Serra Catholic winning 6-1 at home behind Quattrone’s 1-hitter. The Jayhawks returned the favor on May 29th, shutting out the Eagles 2-0 in Jeannette.

Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 6 – Sewickley Academy Panthers 1 
The Mighty Mikes of Carmichaels jumped out in front with a run in the top of the first, and held the lead throughout the entire game in a 6-1 win over the Sewickley Academy Panthers.  A 2-out single in the top of the first by Jacob Wamsley drove in Bill Bowlen to give the Mikes the early lead.  Sewickley Academy, who had baserunners every inning, and ended up stranding a total of 12 of them, missed their best chance to score in the bottom of the second.  With one out, Stephen Klemash singled to load the bases but Carmichaels pitcher Jacob Kinsell caught the next two batters looking at strike three to get out of the inning.  The Panthers missed another opportunity in the fourth after Drew Johnson led off with a double.  He was thrown out at third in the next at bat, and Bill Bowlen made a great play on a flare, ending the inning with a double play. The Mikes then broke the game open a bit in the fifth as Darren Krause led off with a single followed by a 1-out single by Joel Spishock to put runners at first and second. Mike Blasinsky stepped to the plate with two outs and drilled a 2-run double to the left-center gap to give the Mikes a 3-0 lead.  Blasinsky would then score on an error to give the Mikes a fourth run.  The Panthers stranded 2 more runners in each of the fifth and sixth innings and Carmichaels added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. The Mikes started that inning with three straight hits including a double by Spishock.  Sewickley Academy did get on the board in the seventh with a Alex Malkowski sacrifice fly. Kinsell, who got the win, pitched a complete game, allowing the one run on 8 hits, striking out four and walking two. Joe Nagel took the loss as he gave up 6 runs, 5 of them earned, on 9 hits. Nagel struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in 6-plus innings.  The Mikes move on to face Greensburg Central Catholic in the Quarterfinals on Monday.

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 9 – Vincentian Academy Royals 3 in 9 Innings 
The Crusaders took advantage of 4 Vincentian errors in the top of the 9th inning to plate 6 runs and blow open a tight game for a 9-3 victory at North Allegheny High School. The turning point of the game however took place in the bottom of the seventh inning with game tied at 2-2 when the Royals loaded the bases with nobody out. But Bishop Canevin’s senior hurler Mitch Taufer was able to induce a pop out, a fielder’s choice grounder which recorded at out at home plate and a fly out to end the threat. Bishop Canevin head coach Dale Checketts brought all three of his outfielders in to play the infield and Checketts admitted afterwards that was the first time in his years as a baseball coach that the seven infielder defensive formation was used. Taufer was outstanding for the Crusaders throwing all 9 innings and striking out 10 to improve his record to (5-1) on the season. Taufer also helped his own cause at the plate with two hits including a double, 2 RBI’s and a run scored in the win. Junior third baseman Justin Dix went 3-for-4 for the Crusaders and also drove home a run. Junior centerfielder Sam Smallhoover reached base three times for Bishop Canevin, scoring three runs and adding a stolen base. Freshman first baseman Garret Barto belted a solo homerun Vincentian in the loss and senior Jay Cortese pitched 7 & 1/3 strong innings striking out 10 Crusaders. Cortese added a double and scored two runs including the game tying run in the bottom of the eighth inning after drawing a leadoff walk and stealing base. The loss marked the second straight season that Vincentian suffered a first round loss in extra innings. The third seeded Royals end the season at (17-4) and the loss snapped Vincentian’s 11-game winning streak. Bishop Canevin , seeded 14th, improved to (7-6) on the year and the Crusaders advance to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals for the first time since 2013 where they will face Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 2-0 winners over Rochester.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 2 – Rochester Rams 0 
At Chippewa Park in Chippewa, the Cardinal Whuerl North Catholic Trojans defeat the Rochester Rams 2-0 in WPIAL Single A first round basball action. It was pitchers duel from the start as Chaz Verrico of the Rams and Nick Tunstal from the Trojans were strong early. Combined they had 8 strikeouts, 6 hits and 4 walks between them thru 4 innings. CWNC scored 5 to to go up 1-0. With two out Robert Schad singled and Jack Anderson doubled for the one run lead. They would get an insurance run in the 6th. A lead off walk, a sacrifice and an RBI single by Danny Lynch gave them the 2-0 lead into th bottom of the 7th. Despite allowing two base runners in the 7th Tunstal finished the Rams off. He went 7 innings, gave up 4 hits, 7 strikeouts, and 1 walk. Rochester finishes their season at 7-9, and North Catholic improves to 14-7. They will face the Bishop Canevin Crusaders on Monday May 19th at a site and time to be determined.

WPIAL SOFTBALL CLASS AAAA First Round:

Gateway Gators 4 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 3 
There is an overused cliché in sports that goes, “It was a shame someone had to lose this game.” For this game Tuesday at Baldwin High School, that cliché will be used one more time because it is extremely appropriate. Neither team did deserve to lose. Also, both teams spent each frame of this nine-inning affair refusing to lose. The game had a little bit of everything: top-notch pitching, stellar defensive plays, timely hitting and the final out recorded on a strikeout with the tying run on third base. This contest could not be resolved in just seven innings as the teams took a 2-2 tie into extra innings. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Madison Lewis – who was the game’s  winning pitcher – blasted a home run over the fence in left-center field to give Gateway a 3-2 lead. Bethel Park was not to be deterred as Julia Sherwin smacked an RBI single with two outs to plate Haley Reid, who had led off the inning with a double. Gateway jumped in front again in the top of the ninth when freshman Danielle Taylor crushed a home run to straightaway center. A single by Ufuoma Ogagan added a key insurance run for the Gators (11-5). Bethel Park tallied a run in the bottom of the ninth on Reid’s RBI grounder, but Carolyn Cook was stranded a third when Shelby Reid took a called third strike from Lewis to end the game. It was the eighth strikeout for Lewis. Taylor Andres took the loss for Bethel Park (13-6), but had a fine showing on the mound with 12 strikeouts. This included a spurt in which she struck out six of nine batters. Cali DiLucente had two hits for Gateway and suffered an ankle injury in a play in which she was thrown out at the plate, but the senior shortstop never came out of the game. Jasine Copeland added two hits and an RBI to the Gators’ attack. Sherwin had two RBI’s for Bethel Park and Cook tallied another on an RBI single. Gateway advances to the quarterfinals to play No. 3 seed Baldwin, which received a first-round bye.

WPIAL SOFTBALL CLASS A First Round:

Monessen Greyhounds 5 – Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 4 
The CWNC Trojanettes wasted no time establishing the early pace against the Monessen Greyhounds in their 1st Round playoff matchup in the WPIAL Class A bracket.  An infield single by Bridget Hudson and a bunt single by MariaLena Shaw in the top of the 1st would set up the first potential threat.  After a strikeout, Tayjah White would go opposite-field with a Dana Vatakis pitch over the left field wall to give the Trojanettes a 3-0 lead.  It would remain that way until the bottom of 3 when the Hounds cracked the scoreboard.  Janae Evans reached base on a hit-batsman.  She subsequently stole 2nd, putting her into scoring position.  With 2 outs, Dana Vatakis drove in Evans with a single to cut the lead to 3-1.  CWNC, however, reestablished the run lead in the top of the 5th as Erin Porter led off reaching on an error.  Singles by Hudson and Shaw loaded the bases, and Porter would later score on a wild pitch to give the Trojanettes a 4-1 lead.  In the bottom half of the inning, the Hounds’ Kelsey Bashinski led off with a walk.  Evans followed by laying down a perfect bunt, and when CWNC catcher Brittany Baxendell made a play on it, her throw to first went all the way into right field, allowing Bashinski to score from first and trim the CWNC lead to 2 at 4-2.  The Greyhounds, however, would save their best for last in the bottom of the 7th by playing a little small-ball en route to a walk-off victory.  Bashinski led off by reaching on another Baxendell error.  Evans followed with a base hit, moving Bashinski to 3rd.  After a strikeout, Victoria Cooper reached on a throwing error by Alayna Derzak, allowing Bashinski to score.  Dana Vatakis’ infield base hit drove in Evans with the tying run, and a ground ball by Alexa Vatakis was fielded by Horton, but her throw to the plate was not in time to get Cooper, and the Monessen Greyhounds with that run would eliminate the CWNC Trojanettes, 5-4, without hitting a single ball out of the infield in the bottom of the 7th.  The Hounds thus have the unenviable task of facing the #1-seeded Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers in the Quarterfinal round of the Class A postseason.  Monessen’s record now stands at 11-3 overall.  Despite a valiant effort and 9 K’s from Derzak, The CWNC Trojanettes’ season comes to a close at 9-7.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 11 – West Greene Pioneers 7 
Those taking in Tuesday’s WPIAL Class A softball playoff game at California University of Pennsylvania’s Lilley Field could look at the result several ways. One person may say that Greensburg Central Catholic battled through seven innings against a feisty West Greene team. Someone else may say that an inordinate amount of fielding and base running errors doomed the Pioneers. Whatever the case, the end result saw the Centurions advance to the second round of the postseason with an 11-7 victory. “I expected it to be a little more of a lower scoring game,” said Greensburg Central Catholic head coach Thomas Appleby. “I guess we were on our game today. I was glad to see it too.”GCC set the tone early in the high scoring affair when shortstop Caroloyn Appleby led off with a single and moved to second base on a stolen base. The first of eight West Greene errors during the at-bat of third baseman Sierra Mathos led to Appleby crossing home plate and putting her team up 1-0. The Centurions doubled their advantage later in the frame on a wild pitch. After it was unable to answer in the bottom of the first, West Greene cut its deficit in half with a score in the second when leftfielder Hanna Reed grounded out to shortstop to plate centerfielder Brittany Bonnema. GCC extended its advantage to three runs (4-1) thanks to a two-spot in the top of the third. The Pioneers fired back with a tally in the third to make the score 4-2. One inning later, West Greene took its first-and-only lead of the day (5-4) in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a three-spot. Unfortunately, that slim advantage lasted just one half-inning as the Centurions immediately responded with a four-run top of the fifth. The eventual victors collected just two hits during the rally, but were helped out in a big way by five West Greene errors in that inning alone. The Pioneers took one last shot at victory by plating a pair of base-runners in the bottom of the inning. Unfortunately for the Blue and Gold, GCC put the game out of reach with two runs in the sixth and a final tally in the seventh. West Greene head coach Billy Simms applauded the opposition’s efforts at the plate that resulted in 11 hits. However, he also recognized the fact that his team’s uncharacteristic defensive lapses played a major role in the final score. “You battle, but you can’t battle yourself more than you do your opponent,” Simms said. “The errors were there and killed us, but we also had two big base-running mistakes that ran us right out of a couple potentially big innings.” Greensburg Central Catholic starting pitcher Nicole Addisey tossed all seven innings and gave up seven runs, five of which were earned, on 10 hits and four walks. She struck out four in the victory. The senior also led her team offensively, going four-for-four with a homerun, a double, four RBI and two runs scored. Junior Bailey Bennington started and suffered the loss while working 5.1 innings in the circle. Only five of her nine runs given up were earned, and came on five hits and no walks. Bennington matched Addisey with four strikeouts. She was relieved by freshman Madison Renner, who started the game at shortstop in the middle of the sixth. Bennington also homered in the loss. Greensburg Central Catholic advances to the Class A quarterfinals, where it will face Frazier on Monday, March 18. The site and start time have not yet been announced.

WPIAL BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLASS AAA First Round:

North Allegheny Tigers 3 – Latrobe Wildcats 1
In similar fashion to last year’s meeting with Latrobe in the playoffs, the North Allegheny boys’ volleyball team again ended the Wildcats season Tuesday night with a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.  The reigning eight-time WPIAL champions defeated Latrobe by the same score last year in the quarterfinals, but it looked like Latrobe might have other thoughts in mind when the match began.  In a hotly contested opening set, Latrobe beat the Tigers 27-25 primarily behind the play of senior Ryan Skoloda who tallied five kills and finished with 15 kills on the night. However, the Tigers got back on track and took the next three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-16 and 25-19.  On this night, North Allegheny was led by a determined Robert Stiefvater who punished the Wildcats in the middle to the tune of 17 kills.  The victory vaults the Tigers into the WPIAL quarterfinals where they’ll face the Plum Mustangs on Thursday night at a site and time to be determined.

Upper St. Clair Panthers 3 – Butler Golden Tornado 1
After dropping the first set 25-20, the Upper Saint Clair boys volleyball team won three-straight to defeat Butler Tuesday evening at North Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA boys volleyball playoffs. The Panthers captured the final three sets by scores of 27-25, 25-22 and 25-19 to advance to the Thursday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded Fox Chapel. Senior outside hitter Brad Colditz led the way on offense for the eighth-seeded Panthers, tallying 11 kills. Fellow seniors Garrett O’Grady and Jacob Tye, along with sophomore Nolan Kondrich, aided the Upper Saint Clair attack, while sophomore setter Eric Lehman and senior libero Billy Smith also played key roles at their respective positions. For Butler, senior outside hitter Chris Fiorina and freshman outside hitter Nash Bryan paced the Golden Tornado with 19 kills apiece.