That’s what Youngsville volleyball coach Vicky Montecalvo had been stressing to her team as they squared off against Rocky Grove in the first round of the District 10 Class 1A playoffs Tuesday.

With the Eagles leading 24-14 in the fourth set, junior outside hitter Kamryn Weissinger found that line and put down a kill to send Youngsville to the quarterfinals with a 25-21, 25-12, 16-25, 25-14 win.

“Vicky was telling us all night to push the line,” Weissinger said. “It was wide open and I hit it.”

Youngsville (8-7) had taken a 2-0 match lead, but struggled in the third set. The Eagles came out and dominated the fourth from start to finish, a sign of the progress the team has made under its first-year head coach.

Youngsville’s Kenzie Olewine puts down a kill over a Rocky Grove defender.

“We move on and rebound,” Montecalvo said. “They just want to win.”

Rocky Grove (10-7) took the first point of the match, but Youngsville grabbed the lead at 3-2 and never let go. The Orioles cut the deficit to three on a few occasions, but the Eagles always had an answer and held off a late rally for the 25-21 win.

The Orioles again took the early lead in the second set, but a 5-0 run put the Eagles on top 6-2. Freshman Kenzie Olewine had an ace, while Weissinger and senior Mallory Sherrard had kills to push the advantage to 9-4. Youngsville took advantage of Rocky Grove mistakes to extend its lead, and a pair of Andrea Sveda kills made it 14-8. With the Eagles on top, 19-10, Sveda put down kills on three of the next four points to put Youngsville up 23-10. The Orioles strung a couple points together, but senior setter Amber Evans ended it with a kill for the 25-12 set win and 2-0 match lead.

“It’s clicking right now and it shows,” Montecalvo said.

The third set was all Rocky Grove.

Youngsville players celebrate following their 3-1 win over Rocky Grove in their District 10 Class 1A first round playoff match at Rocky Grove High School, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019.

The Orioles jumped out to a 7-1 lead, as it was the Eagles who suddenly started making mistakes. Youngsville was able to regroup a bit and trimmed the lead to 9-6 and 10-7, but that was as close as they got the rest of the way. Rocky Grove led by as much as 11 at one point, and though Youngsville tried to climb back in it, the Eagles just couldn’t put a sustained run together. The Orioles gave life to the home crowd with a 25-16 win.

“We’re still learning how to finish three games,” Weissinger said.

Between sets, Montecalvo gathered her squad to calm them, and remind them how they got to that point.

“I told them to play our game,” she said. “We got a little too confident, a little too comfortable. I told them to let them make the errors, and they did.”

The Eagles responded by starting the fourth set with a 5-0 run. The Orioles climbed back to within four at 8-4, but three straight errors and a Sveda ace gave the Eagles breathing room. Weissinger got the serve with the Eagles leading 14-6 and served the next five points to put Youngsville up 19-6. A Sveda block made it 21-8, but Rocky Grove answered with a 5-0 run.

After the fifth point, Weissinger was visibly trying to calm her teammates on the floor.

“We have a lot of leaders,” she said. “It’s a nice balance. I was just trying to create a wave of calm.”

It worked.

The Eagles got the next point, then moved to 23-14 on a Rocky Grove service error. Olewine served an ace to get to match point and Weissinger put it away on the next point to send the Eagles to the quarterfinals.

“It feels great,” Weissinger said. “To do something like this . . . it’s amazing.”

Sveda (3 blocks, 6 kills), Weissinger (8 kills), Sherrard (4 kills) and Evans (12 assists) led Youngsville.

Kennedy Winslow and Rylee Reed led the Orioles with three blocks and three kills each. Amy Ruditis added another three kills and Devin Rhoads served four aces.

The Eagles now turn their attention to a familiar opponent.

Youngsville will face region champion Union City in the quarterfinals Thursday, at a time and location to be determined. The Bears swept the Eagles earlier in the season, though the scores were close.

“We ran with Union City,” Montecalvo said. “This was a good confidence builder. We’re a more solid team than we were then.”