So close, but so far away.

Those words sum up the girls' volleyball season thus far for Butler Area High School and coach Meghan Lucas.

The Golden Tornado has the unfortunate task of competing in Section 3-AAA.

"It's clearly the strongest of the five Class AAA sections in the WPIAL," said Lucas, who is in her fifth year as head coach at Butler. "I don't mind the stiff competition, because you've got to play the best to be the best."

Just look at the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association and it's easy to see why Section 3-AAA is so strong. Seneca Valley is No. 3, while North Allegheny is No. 9. The only other WPIAL team in the top 10 is No. 7 Mt. Lebanon.

"Pine-Richland was also in the state rankings [until this week] at No. 10," Lucas said. "It's a little frustrating to be in this section when you see how weak some of the other sections are."

Butler has a 4-4 record in Section 3-AAA after Tuesday's 3-0 victory against North Hills. But that doesn't tell the whole story.

"We took Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley to five games in the first round of section play," said Lucas. "We did everything but win in those matches."

Butler opened the second half of section play last Thursday by dropping a 3-1 decision to Pine-Richland. That means, the Golden Tornado will have to beat North Allegheny tonight to stay in the playoff picture.

"I'm really proud of my girls, but it's hard for the community to see how far this program has come since I took over," said Lucas. "We qualified for the WPIAL playoffs last year, and that was the first time in more than 10 years that Butler was in the playoffs."

Butler tied for third in the section last year after splitting with Seneca Valley. The Golden Tornado dropped a 3-0 decision to Penn-Trafford in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs, while North Allegheny and Seneca Valley advanced to the semifinals.

"We lost only two players to graduation, and still have only three seniors on the team," said Lucas, who graduated from Kiski Area High School in 1991 and Clarion University in 1995. "We have a lot of babies on the team."

The three senior starters are: 5-foot-6 setter Katie Willison, 5-6 outside hitter Ashley Grenet and 5-5 defensive specialist Sam Harris.

"Katie has been our setter since her sophomore year," said Lucas. "It's nice to have an experienced setter. She runs a fast offense and has a knack for making the big plays."

Lucas also has four juniors and three sophomores in Butler's 10-player rotation. The juniors are: 6-0 middle hitter Becky Smith, 5-9 outside hitter Rachel Doutt, 5-4 libero Stephanie Mock and 5-5 defensive specialist Caitlyn Cress.

"We have a very talented sophomore class," Lucas said. "Our sophomores played on a 15-and-under club team during the offseason and did very well."

The three sophomores are: 5-9 middle hitter Abbie Druschel, 5-10 setter/right-side hitter Amanda Huey and 5-9 outside hitter Brynn Maxwell.