Butler boys volleyball coach Lew Liparulo is hoping to celebrate his 50th year of coaching with a WPIAL playoff appearance.
But the Golden Tornado may find themselves on the outside looking in when postseason play begins on May 12.
With five schools adding a boys volleyball program, the WPIAL committee made significant changes to its section alignment.
The previous alignment had six sections with six or seven schools in each section. The new alignment has eight smaller sections with either five or six schools in each section.
With smaller sections, the WPIAL committee dropped the number of playoff qualifiers to three for any section with six or fewer teams.
That change is significant when looking at Section 3, in which four of the five teams are ranked among the top five in WPIAL Class 3A.
That means one of the four schools will be sitting at home when the playoffs begin, unless there is a tie for third place that cannot be broken.
"Our section has been the strongest for quite a few years, but we always had four qualifiers," said the 72-year old Liparulo, who made his coaching debut in 1976. "Now only three schools can qualify. They ran into the same scenario during girls season."
Seneca Valley is No. 2 in the Class 3A rankings, and North Allegheny dropped to No. 3 after its 3-2 loss to the Raiders on April 7. The two are tied for first place in the section with a 3-1 record.
Butler and Pine-Richland are tied for third place with a 2-2 mark. The Golden Tornado are ranked No. 4 after their 3-1 win against the No. 5-ranked Rams. Pine-Richland also posted a 3-1 win against Seneca Valley in the first half.
"Our next three matches will determine whether we make the playoffs or have our season end early," Liparulo said. "We have to win at least one of the three to keep our playoff hopes alive."
Butler's three-match gauntlet begins Wednesday, as the Tornado play host to Seneca Valley. Next week, Butler travels to Pine-Richland on Tuesday and returns home Thursday for a showdown with North Allegheny.
"It's a shame that one of the four teams will be sitting at home during the playoffs," Liparulo said. "Our section is so much better than the other sections."
Liparulo has a very experienced squad, as eight individuals saw playing time in the starting lineup last year, including three who were recognized on the section All-Star team.
Senior outside hitter Mason Anderson and senior opposite hitter Alec Teff were voted to the second team, while junior libero Maddox McCall was a third-team selection.
Gators lurking
Gateway has returned to Class 3A after a six-year stint in Class 2A in which the Gators made WPIAL playoff appearances in each of the last four years.
Coach Phil Randolph has the Gators in the playoff picture in the newly formed Section 4.
With the first half coming to a close next week, Gateway is one of three teams in Section 4 that has only one loss. Central Catholic and North Hills are tied for first with a 3-1 mark, while Gateway has a 2-1 mark.
Gateway recorded a 3-0 sweep against North Hills but lost 3-1 to Central Catholic. North Hills handed Central Catholic its only loss with a 3-1 decision, thus a virtual three-way tie for first place.
"We did a good job in our match with North Hills, but Central Catholic had our number," said Randolph, now in his seventh year. "We also had [junior outside hitter] Dan Bozicevic out with the flu during the Central Catholic match. It's come down to a three-way battle for the section title."
With that in mind, the three rematches will determine who wins the section title or if they’ll remain tied.
The first rematch is April 24, as Gateway travels to North Hills. The Gators return home for their May 1 match against Central Catholic. North Hills plays host to Central Catholic on April 29.
"We must have our house in order in the second half," Randolph said. "We have to be able to set the pace and tempo on offense and trust in our defense."
Randolph has a lot of new faces in this year's lineup.
"We lost 14 players to graduation from last year's team," Randolph said. "We've done a pretty good job with so many inexperienced players."
Randolph does have two players returning who were voted to the second team of the WPIAL Class 2A All-Star team last year. Darious Farrar is a senior outside hitter, and Owen Echegaray is a senior libero.
"Darious is our go-to hitter," Randolph said. "Owen does a great job in the back row for us."
Jaguars-Rebels could be for Section 4 title
The Class 2A Section 4 lead will be on the line when Thomas Jefferson plays host to Seton LaSalle on Tuesday. The two teams are tied for first place in the section with a 3-0 record.
And both teams are ranked. The Rebels are No. 3 in the rankings, while the Jaguars are No. 5.
"When you consider that both teams had a lot of experienced players returning, I figured it would come down to us and Seton LaSalle for the section title," Thomas Jefferson coach Frank Staffen said.
Staffen is glad Tuesday's match is at home.
"Seton LaSalle has low ceilings in its gym, which gives them an advantage at home," said Staffen, now in his 26th year as Jaguars coach. "Being at home on Tuesday gives us an advantage."
Staffen's lineup includes nine players who lettered or started last season, including two WPIAL All-Stars.
Senior libero Jaiden Wadlow and senior outside hitter Braeden Artman were both voted to the WPIAL Class 2A second team.
"I moved Braedon and [senior] Aiden Dushack from the middle to the outside this year, so we always have a go-to hitter in the front row," Staffen said. "Jaiden has been our libero since midway through his freshman year. He's one of the best liberos in the WPIAL."
WPIAL rankings
Class 3A
1. Latrobe 8-0
2. Seneca Valley 7-2
3. North Allegheny 6-1
4. Butler 5-3
5. Pine-Richland 5-2
Class 2A
1. Shaler 5-1
2. Ambridge 7-0
3. Seton LaSalle 7-3
4. North Catholic 5-2
5. Thomas Jefferson 5-2
First Published: April 15, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
