Youngsville won the first two sets before WCCS took the third. The Eagles closed out the win in the fourth.

“I’m super excited and proud,” Youngsville coach Barb Lutton said. “We played together and communicated well.”

By the fourth set, officials were forced to stop after nearly every point to wipe moisture from the playing surface.

“It affects momentum,” Lutton said. “It gets hot, it gets exhausting. But we’re kind of getting used to it.”

“It freezes the server,” WCCS coach Mark Brenner said. “It’s almost like a timeout.”

Before things began heating up, Youngsville overcame some unforced errors to grab a 12-4 lead in the first set. WCCS fought back after getting down 20-12, but the Eagles held on for a 25-16 win.

The Eagles raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second, but unforced errors allowed the Lions to tie it at 5-5. Youngsville answered with a 6-0 run, but the Lions responded with a 6-0 run of their own to knot things at 11-11. WCCS took its first lead of the set at 13-12, then pushed the advantage to 18-14. The Eagles then went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-18 lead. The Lions got to within a point, but Youngsville closed out the set with a 25-21 win.

“This is a bigger gym, a bigger stage than we’re used to,” Brenner said. “This is the biggest school we’ve played this year and it took some time to get used to the stage.”

The Lions certainly settled in by the third set. They jumped out to a 6-1 lead, then pushed the advantage to 14-7. Youngsville was able to get within four at multiple points, but WCCS kept fending the Eagles off. Youngsville was able to string some points together and forced the Lions to take a timeout with a slim 19-18 lead. The Eagles finally got the tie at 23-23 and even got to set point. The Lions were able to rebound and grabbed a 26-24 win.

Youngsville’s Amber Evans (4) passes to a teammate during the second set of a match against Warren County Christian School at Youngsville High School, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Evans had 25 service points and 24 assists to help lead the Eagles to a 3-1 win over the Lions.

“We had a run of energy,” Brenner said. “The girls had that fight in them.”

The teams battled to an 8-8 tie to start the fourth set. Youngsville then went on a 4-0 run to grab a lead the Eagles wouldn’t relinquish. WCCS battled to get within four, but the Eagles wore the Lions down and came away with a 25-18 win.

“Our serve receive was much better tonight,” Lutton said. “We’re starting to trust each other out there.”

Amber Evans had strong game both for the Eagles from the serve line and setting up her teammates. She finished with 25 service points, 24 assists and four blocks.

“Their serve set them apart,” Brenner said. “Evans picked us apart.”

Andrea Sveda had 10 kills, five blocks and five digs in the win. Megan Foley had 22 service points, five kills, eight total blocks and three digs, while Taylor Walters had seven kills and six digs.

“Walters had an amazing defensive game,” Lutton said.

For WCCS, Emma Marino had 12 kills and five digs, McKenna Phelps had five kills and 10 digs and Gwen Reed had 13 assists and three digs.

JV: WCCS 2, YOUNGSVILLE 0

WCCS won the junior varsity contest 25-9 and 25-19.

Emily Cox had eight aces, three kills and two digs and Krystal Kinney had five aces, a kill and two digs in the win.

Mikayla Eyler led the Eagles with 10 service points and four digs and Seebe Proper added three digs.