“We never quit working,” said Eisenhower coach Scott Olson.

Youngsville got out to an early 4-2 lead in the first set, but Eisenhower answered with a 7-0 run to take a 9-4 lead and force an Eagle timeout.

The Eagles rallied following the break and got to within one at 11-10, but the Knights answered with another rally. This time it was a 6-2 run to put them up 17-12.

Youngsville tried to get back in it, but only got as close as four, 22-18, before Currie Hultman closed out the set with consecutive aces to give Eisenhower the 25-18 win.

Youngsville’s Maddie Uplinger serves to Eisenhower during their match at Eisenhower High School, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. The Knights defeated the Eagles, 3-1.

“Our serve receive was much better (tonight),” said Youngsville coach Barb Lutton.

Lutton said she changed her team’s rotation to start the second set.

The change certainly worked as the second set was all Eagles from the get-go. Youngsville jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Eisenhower closed the gap a bit to get to 6-3, but the Eagles answered with a 4-1 run to force a Knight timeout. The Eagles were nearly flawless as they built an 18-6 advantage. Meanwhile, the Knights began making mistakes and committing unforced errors.

“We had a lot of errors in the second,” Olson said. “Credit to Youngsville, they played hard. But our personality is still not used to winning and we’ve got to overcome that.”

Following a timeout, the Knights made fewer mistakes and started making the Eagles earn each point. Youngsville thought it had put the set away, 25-13. However, the top official called a line violation on set point and summoned both teams back to the court to finish. Eisenhower made things interesting, rattling off six straight points before the Eagles earned the set victory, 25-19.

“Our strong desire to win (got us the set win),” Lutton said. “We gained momentum and kept it.”

The Eagles took that momentum into the third set, starting with five straight points. The Knights rallied and thought they had played to an 8-8 tie, but the point celebration was premature as Youngsville kept the ball off the floor and the volley continued. The point ultimately went Youngsville’s way, and the Eagles took the next four points as well to build a 13-7 advantage. Eisenhower took the next four points to pull within two at 13-11.

Youngsville was able to hold off their hosts for a while, but the Knights eventually pulled even at 19-19, and took their first lead at 20-19. The teams went back-and-forth for the next few points before Eisenhower called a timeout trailing 23-22. Youngsville got to set point, 24-22, but the Knights took the next two points to tie at 24. The Eagles had two more set points, but it was the Knights who finally put the set away with a 28-26 win.

“We got a couple good serves and finally got out ahead,” Olson said. “It was gut check time when they went back to serve (set points).”

“I’m certainly not disappointed in the way they played,” Lutton said. “They played hard.”

The teams traded points to start the fourth set before Youngsville called a timeout trailing 10-8. Eisenhower came out of the timeout and quickly scored the next four points.

“I told them (during the timeout) that they had to keep their foot on the gas and make sure every point counts,” Olson said.

The Knights heeded their coach’s advice and began to pull away. Youngsville was able to get two or three consecutive points, but didn’t make enough of a run to cut into the Knights lead as Eisenhower came away with a match-clinching 25-17 win.

“We did much better with our teamwork and communication (tonight),” Lutton said.

Emma Marino led the Eagles with 12 digs and seven kills. Amber Evans added 13 assists and 13 service points.

Hultman had a strong game on the service line for the Knights, finishing with five aces.

“I think she was trying to do too much (Tuesday),” Olson said. “Tonight she was playing within herself.”

Hultman also added six kills and five digs on the night. Cameran Edwards led the Knights with nine kills and 10 digs, while Caroline Ishman had a game-high 17 assists.

JV EISENHOWER 2, YOUNGSVILLE 0

Eisenhower took the junior varsity game in straight sets, 25-21 and 25-15. Catrina Edwards had seven aces and 11 service points and Brittany Smith added five aces and seven service points.

Andrea Sveda had eight attacks and three kills to lead the Eagles, while Mallory Sherrar chipped in five kills and three attacks.