ELYRIA, Ohio -- Rocky River battled back from a 2-1 deficit to earn a gutty 3-2 victory at Elyria Catholic on Thursday.

The win marked River's fourth in a row and sixth in the team's last seven matches. It also made for a measure of retribution: the Panthers defeated Rocky River, 3-1, in River on Sept. 10. 

Thursday's court case also marked the second in a row to see the Pirates plead the fifth: the Volleyball Buccaneers toppled the Bay Rockets by a 3-2 score on Tuesday. 

In this most recent Great Lakes Conference cliffhanger, the Pirates (11-6, 10-5 GLC) lost the first and third sets -- 25-21 and 25-18, respectively. They middled those two setbacks with a 25-18 win in the second. A key fourth game saw the visitors prevail, 25-20. The Maroon & White then took the clincher, 15-12.

Freshman Samantha Young (19 kills) and junior Paige Waite (20) combined for 39 kills on an evening that saw the Pirates hit .140 against Elyria Catholic (6-12, 4-11). Rocky River's busy swatters logged a remarkable 380 combined hitting attempts over this week's road wins at Bay and EC.

Waite hit .333 in Thursday's match. The dynamic point producer has logged 64 kills over the Pirates' last four matches. Setting up Waite, Young, and the rest of the River frontcourt was senior Emily Slyman who tallied 53 assists. Slyman has now registered 155 helpers over Rocky River's last three matches.

The Pirate backcourt was ably defended by Taylor Spies, Emma Liszeski, and Clare Duffy, who recorded 26, 23, and 22 digs, respectively. Duffy's match line also included seven kills and three service aces.

The Pirates are now 7-1 over their last eight matches against the Panthers. On the week, they are 2-0 in ending five-set matches with ...

... high fives all around.

by Skip Snow