ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- An arduous and artful night of volleyball played out to the eventual advantage of the host Pirates, as Rocky River defeated Buckeye, 3-2, in a night of tremendous Great Lakes Conference action at Rocky River Gymnasium on Tuesday.

Buckeye (11-7, 10-6 GLC) took sets one and three; Rocky River (13-7, 12-5 GLC) took two, four, and five in a gutsy, winning, backs-against-the-wall performance on its home floor. The final digits played out like a hard-to-remember locker combination: 22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-16, 15-9.

For the Pirates -- now winners of six of their last seven -- the victory exacted a measure of vengeance. Buckeye had defeated the Maroon & White, 3-0, in Medina, Ohio, on Sept. 12.

The opening set was a near-even, point-for-point exchange the whole way. Rocky River resurrected a mid-game deficit with a four-point run led by the play of Paige Waite at the net and Emily Slyman on the floor. And River would eventually be tied with Buckeye at 22-22. But three strong Buck serves closed out the 25-22 win for the visitors.

In game No. 2, the Bucks controlled the middle points to open a 13-9 lead. But stalwart defense and a couple well-placed hammer kills by Samantha Young got the Pirates back to level, at 20-20. The 41st point of the second was a long volley that went to Buckeye. But again Rocky River had a counter -- the Pirates took the next three points to open a 23-21 advantage. After a Bucks point, a Young kill got River to the doorstep. Four points later -- a stretch that included another floor dart by the freshman swatter -- the Pirates prevailed in the 26-24 tussle.

The third game was marked first by a middle-set 8-2 run by Buckeye and then by a late 6-2 move by the Pirates to get the affair to 19-19. But the Bucks took five of the final seven points to cap off a 25-21 win. 

Swashbuckling River resolve was on display early in the fourth, with the Pirates taking 10 of the game's first 15 points. Buckeye started to make a mid-game push, but strong net play and hustle by Waite and Megan Lally helped the home side retain a tidy margin until putting the game away at 25-16 on a pair of Slyman serves.

And so the Pirates went to a fifth game for the third time in their last five matches. And River opened up set five where they left off in the fourth -- on a string of effective serves. Emma Liszeski served up a pair of aces in getting the Pirates to a 3-0 lead. Liszeski would finish the night with seven aces. Big efforts by Paige Waite and Samantha Young loomed large in River opening up a 10-4 advantage. The Bucks would get back a couple points, but a remarkable 19th point went to the Pirates after a pair of sprawling digs and a dagger swat by Young. Rocky River took a 12-7 lead into the endgame moments. Kills by Madie Shoaf and Paige Waite were forthcoming, and the effort by Waite -- well set up by Emily Slyman -- was the match-winner.

The echo of Waite's shot bounding off the hardwood was drowned out by booming cheers from the River side. And then eventually from both sides. And it was for the efforts of players representing both schools.

Peg this one as the Bucs and the Bucks. Because it was just that close.


CANNON FIRE ...

HIT PARADE: After being out-hit, .214 to .087, in the Sept. 12 match at Buckeye, Rocky River hit a robust .313 in Tuesday's five-game war. Samantha Young garnered a career-high 32 kills while hitting .396 in the match. Paige Waite swung her way to 18 kills and a .500 average. Clare Duffy added six errorless kills on the night. River's .313 mark was their best in a single match since Aug. 29 (.368 vs. Valley Forge).

DEER HUNTERS: Duffy logged 14 digs in the match, while Liszeski, Slyman, and Young added 12 each. Slyman finished with 57 assists. ... With her 32 kills Tuesday, Young now has 99 kills over River's last six matches. ... Rocky River is now 3-1 over four matches that have gone the route in 2020. All three of the Pirates' 3-2 wins have come in the last week (vs. Bay, Elyria Catholic, Buckeye).

THE WAITE SHOW: With her 18 kills against just two hitting errors against Buckeye, Paige Waite has now hit a monstrous .492 over her last 12 matches. Waite leads the Pirates with 232 kills this season. She's the program's active leader with 575 kills in her career.