Varsity Girls Volleyball
Butler - 3 North Hills - 0

Lauren Maher had 10 kills as Butler won the match 25-21, 25-10, 25-11. Heather Straynick added seven kills and nine aces while Gabby Carney had seven kills.
AAU success offers glimpse into bright future for Butler
Volleyball team enjoys standout tourney season

Butler 3, Hampton 0
Heather Straynick had 10 kills and three aces as the Golden Tornado (2-2) swept the match 25-13, 25-10, 25-18. Gabby Carney had eight kills and Mackenzie Huey 22 assists.

By John EnriettoEagle Sports Editor

BUTLER TWP — Getting to the WPIAL playoffs has been a difficult task for the Butler High School girls volleyball team.
Finding championship-caliber competition hasn't.
“ North Allegheny, Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland are three of the top programs in the state,” Butler coach Meghan Lucas said of her section rivals. “When we do find our way into the playoffs, those games seem easier than the regular season.”
The Golden Tornado have been to the playoffs twice — 2006 and 2008 — in Lucas' eight years at the helm.
But postseason visits may soon become more frequent.
The Tornado Volleyball Club 16-under AAU team lost only three games total in six tournaments this offseason.
Each of the tourneys consisted of 12 teams or more.
Butler won tournaments at California (Pa.), Westminster, New Castle and Erie.
The team lost in the finals at Penn State-Behrend and semifinals at Edinboro.
“ This is the fifth year we've had an AAU team and definitely, this has been our best season record-wise,” Lucas said.
“ These girls are going to make an impact.
“ We came up against teams twice as big as us. To look at us, we didn't look like a powerhouse at all.
These kids just had the attitude that losing is not an option. The strongest part of our game was our defense.”
The eight-player squad consisted of six sophomores, a freshman and an eighth-grader.
Gabby Carney is the freshman, Alyssa DiPippa the eighth-grader.
Ashley Grooms was the Tornado's setter with Carney and Heather Straynick
being standout hitters from the middle and outside, respectively.
Olivia Weist, Lauren Maher, Erin Hilderbrand and Suzy Klann were solid contributors as well.
“ The whole team worked well together,” assistant coach Danielle Hogue said. “And they never got tired of playing.”
The team played up to seven games in one day as the tournaments were held on Saturdays. While tourneys generally ran from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Butler's last tournament began at 1:30 p.m. and didn't end until midnight.
“ Junior Olympic volleyball ties up weekends because we practice Sunday afternoons,” Hogue said. “We have track kids, basketball kids on the team ... You need dedicated athletes and these girls are.”
Hogue is a 2004 Slippery Rock High graduate who played volleyball at Westminster College. The Titans won their conference and reached the NCAA Division III Tournament her senior year.
Hogue now teaches learning support math at Butler Intermediate.
“ These are a scrappy bunch of girls and that's hard to come by these days,” Lucas said. “They play with fire in their eyes.
“ A lot of the girls in the jumping events on the track team are my volleyball players.
Playing one sport makes them better in the other.”
Lucas said Butler's volleyball fortunes are on the rise.
“ This is a great volleyball state,” she said. “Penn State has won three straight national titles
and our high school teams are among the best in the country.
“ The girls on this team were selected because of their attitude and how hard they work. You're definitely going to hear a lot from them in the next year or two.”

2010
Double Duty

"She has a tremendous work ethic,"
- Butler coach Meghan Lucas

Butler 3, North Hills 0
Alexis Krause had seven kills and Makenzie Huey added seven digs
as the Golden Tornado swept the Indians 25-13, 25-20, 25-15.
Katelyn Wetzel added six kills for Butler (6-5).

Butler 3, Hampton 0
Christina Farmer had 12 kills, and Meghan Studds and Alexis Krause added eight and seven kills, respectively, to power the Tornado (2-3) to the 25-15, 25-18, 25-15 victory.





2009

Butler - 3 Shaler - 1
Brynn Maxwell tallied 11 kills, Marina Gracik had eight kills and Chelsea Pallone had seven digs
as Butler rolled past Shaler 3-1.
The Golden Tornado won by scores of 23-25, 25-14, 25-23 and 25-21.
Butler won the JV match 2-0.


Butler 3, North Hills 0
The Golden Tornado dominated this match, defeating the Indians 25-4, 25-9 and 25-16.
Amanda Huey led the way with 16 assists, four aces and three kills.
Brynn Maxwell and Danielle Lloyd each had four kills for Butler (1-0).

Butler 3, Oakland Catholic 2
Abbie Druschel had 20 kills and seven blocks, and Hannah Williams had 15 digs for the Tornado (2-0).

Butler - 3 Pine Richland - 1
Abbie Druschel had 12 kills and 11 blocks to lead Butler to a 3-1 victory over Pine-Richland.
The Golden Tornado (3-0) won by scores of 25-21, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20.
Marina Gracik contributed 10 kills and Jocelyn Bachman had 13 digs.

Butler 3, New Castle 0
Stephanie Girdano had 18 assists and two aces as the Golden Tornado (5-1, 4-1) routed New Castle 25-6, 25-4, 25-10.
Butler's junior varsity team also won in a sweep.

Golden Tornado netters roll past Indians

Amanda Skidmore tallied eight kills and Brynn Maxwell had four as the Butler girls volleyball team
rolled past host North Hills for a 3-0 victory.
The Golden Tornado, who won by scores of 25-9, 25-11 and 25-9, improved to 6-2 overall, 5-2 in the section.

Butler 3, Fox Chapel 1
Abbie Druschel had 19 kills and Lindsay Wittebort had seven kills and seven blocks as the Tornado downed the Foxes 24-26, 25-13, 25-14, 25-21.

Butler 3, New Castle 0
Marina Gracik slammed 13 kills and Amanda Huey tallied five service aces in Butler's 25-8, 25-2, 25-13 win.
Girls Volleyball
Butler - 3 North Hills - 0
Butler - 3 Oakland Catholic - 2
Butler - 3 Pine Richland - 1
Butler - 3 Shaler - 1
Butler - 3 New Castle -0
Butler - 3 North Hills - 0
Butler - 3 Fox Chapel - 1
Butler - 3 New Castle -0




past seasons...

At the Butler Tournament the host Tornado defeated Avonworth 2-1 in the semifinals, then defeated Council Rock South 2-0 in the championship final.
Council Rock South had blanked Kiski Area 2-0 in the other semifinal. Knoch was defeated by Avonworth 2-0 in the quarterfinal round.

Butler 3, Hampton 0
The Golden Tornado beat the Talbots by scores of 25-15, 25-6, 25-18. Stephanie Mock had 8 service aces. Becky Smith and Amanda Huey each had 9 kills and Abbie Druschel had 8 kills.

Butler 3, Shaler 2
The Golden Tornado won a dramatic five-set victory over Shaler by recording a total of 38 kills, 15 blocks and 66 digs. Butler won the match 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-9.

Butler 3, New Castle 0
As a team, the Golden Tornado had 25 kills and 18 aces to beat New Castle 25-11, 25-9, 25-8.

Girls Volleyball
Butler 3 North Hills 0
Becky Smith tallied 11 kills and two blocks, and Brynn Maxwell had six kills and 19 service points for the Golden Tornado, which swept the Indians by scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-6.
Butler 3, New Castle 0
Becky Smith had 10 kills for the Golden Tornado (4-2, 3-2) in their 25-9, 25-6, 25-12 victory. Brynn Maxwell added five kills and Amanda Huey nine aces.
Butler's junior varsity posted a 2-0 victory
Girls Volleyball
Butler 3, New Castle 0
Rachel Doutt had four kills and five digs, Steph Mock had 19 digs and two kills, and Becky Smith had eight digs and five kills as the Tornado won 25-4, 25-9, 25-13.
Butler (10-3, 8-3)

Girls Volleyball
Becky Smith had 12 kills as Butler swept North Hills 25-11, 25-19, 25-13.
Steph Mock added 11 digs and Amanda Huey had four blocks for the Golden Tornado (7-2, 6-2).

Girls Volleyball
Butler - 3
Seneca Valley - 0
(25-16, 25-21, 25-18)

Head Coach: Meghan Lucas
Butler 3 - Plum 1
Butler beat Plum 25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19.
Becky Smith led the tornado girls with 10 kills and 25 blocks. Rachel Doutt
had 9 kills and 3 blocks, and Abbie Druschel had 3 kills and 15 blocks. Katie
Willison had 30 assists with 6 blocks, and Sam Harris had 30 digs.
Butler - 3 Fox Chapel - 1
Abbie Druschel had eight kills and eight blocks and Katie Willison added 25 assists to lead Butler to a 20-25, 25-19, 27-25, 27-25 win over #7 ranked Fox Chapel.
Amanda Huey added seven kills and four blocks for the Golden Tornado (7-5, 6-5).
Butler - 3 Hampton - 0
25-8, 25-10, 25-8 Becky Smith had 8 kills and 7 blocks;
Abbie Druschel 6 kills, 3 blocks; Ashley Grenet 6 kills; and Steph Mock 8 digs and 3 aces.
Butler -3 NH -0
Becky Smith had 10 kills and Katie Willison added 34 assists and seven aces to power the Butler girls volleyball team to a 25-15, 25-9, 25-7 sweep over North Hills
Butler 3 Shaler 2
19-25; 25-23; 25-19; 23-25; 15-9
Butler had 38 kills, 15 blocks, & 66 digs.
At the Butler Tournament the host Tornado defeated Avonworth 2-1 in the semifinals, then defeated Council Rock South 2-0 in the championship final.
Council Rock South had blanked Kiski Area 2-0 in the other semifinal. Knoch was defeated by Avonworth 2-0 in the quarterfinal round.

Amy Achesinski:"I can't recall ever wanting to win a game so badly."...WPIAL Playoff bound...



, www.goldentornadosports.net, is dedicated to bringing the viewer as much information as possible about each and every sport supported by Butler Athletics. All information regarding Butler Athletics is generated by students and parents who seek to provide the very best updated material for all to view. We invite you to submit any appropriate material by clicking the below address and attaching, doc.'s, photo's and other pertinent information related to the sport of your choice. Thank You.

Girls Volleyball Archives...