AUBURN - On Friday night at the Thomas Jefferson gymnasium, it took five games of fury before one South Puget Sound League volleyball team rose from the turmoil in victory.

Rallying relentlessly from a 2-1 game deficit and a 6-3 disadvantage in the fifth game, the homestanding Raiders edged out crosstown rival Todd Beamer, 3-2, for a nonleague win.

Trailing 6-3 in the fifth game, the Titans marshaled their forces for the winning surge. Beamer gained one point on a net serve from TJ and continued its momentum behind the serve of Alex Schultz. Schultz rocketed home a service ace later to give the Raiders an 8-6 lead.

The squads continued the matchup which featured numerous long exchanges of digs, blocks and kills until Allie Crowe set up TJ teammate Rachelle Eckert for a kill to tie the last game at 11-11. One final tie at 14-14 epitomized the never-say-die efforts of both gallant teams. At that point, a Jefferson serve wide of the sideline put the Titans into the game-winning position. Schultz maneuvered a tough to handle serve that eventually led to a Titan exchange advantage and a netted Raider hit to end the super struggle.

“We’ve been working as a team more,” declared Todd Beamer head coach Bliss Carlson about her 2-2 Titans. “This is the best they’ve played as a whole. They moved more as a team and didn’t give up on themselves.”

Fired up fighting by both front lines resulted in a 14-13 Beamer margin in the first game. Freshman Megan Stumpf and junior McKenna Grotefend held the keys to the scoring surge that propelled the Titans to the game win.

Crowe contributed a Beamer point from the left hitter spot to regain serve for the Titans. With Olivia Jones serving, Schultz set Grotefend up for a kill. Beamer jumped on Jefferson mistakes as the lead ballooned to 19-13. Katelyn Nugent’s stuff block rallied the Raiders within 20-17, but Grotefend’s kill, a mishandled serve by TJ and Ericka Duffy’s block ahead of a Grotefend block had the Titans sailing away at 24-17 en route to a 25-21 win.

In game two, Jones’ tough serving to the Jefferson back line paved the way for a 6-3 Beamer lead. After forcing an 8-8 deadlock, Jefferson took control for good. Kendra Ansotigue’s serve and Nugent’s net played led the Raiders to a 12-8 advantage. Outscoring its opponents 3-1 in scoring runs, Jefferson boomed away to margins of 15-10, 18-11 and 22-13 before annexing the game, 25-15. Morgann Green paced a huge front line effort from TJ.

Continuing its momentum, Jefferson broke away from a slender 7-6 lead in the third game. Dropping serves from Ansotigue and Nugent’s powerful hitting drew TJ to a 12-6 dominance. Diving digs, excellent blocked shots and tough serves carried the game for Jefferson. Green, Eckert and Nugent controlled the flow until the Raiders sealed the deal, 25-17.

Resiliency reared its head as Beamer regrouped for a bounce back in the third game. In a role reversal from the previous game, it was the Titans who galloped away from an 8-6 edge. Setter Schultz joined Grotefend, Stumpf and the rest of the Raiders in powering away to a 12-6 lead. Capitalizing on Jefferson mishits, the Titans were never seriously threatened in a 25-17 triumph to force the fateful game five.

For one Beamer athlete, the reason for the comeback was emotion and support.

“My team’s spirit kept me alive,” proclaimed outside hitter Duffy. “The cheering on the bench pumped me up.”

Thomas Jefferson’s win-loss record fell to 2-1, but Jefferson head coach Megan Melver appreciated the strong effort and learning experience this type of match up provided.

“We settled down this game,” said Melver. “All season, we’ve been battling injuries and illness. For this game, we had players recovering from the flu. You have to take your hat off to the Beamer girls, though. Beamer was able to stay with it. Our girls played hard. When you think they’re done, they come back. As we develop in these preseason matches, these experiences are great to get under our belts.”

Beamer’s performance was highlighted by 13 assists from Alex Schultz and 11 digs by Summer Jex. Megan Stumpf also shined with seven kills and four blocks. Allie Crowe dished up 33 assists with two aces and four digs for Jefferson. Katelyn Nugent contributed 14 kills and two stuff blocks while teammate Morgann Green added 17 kills and five stuff blocks. Further Raider ammunition was provided by the 11 digs, four aces and three kills of Kendra Ansotigue.