The Lancaster Bible College women's volleyball team won its first five-set match in nearly two years on Tuesday night, as the Chargers overcame a 2-1 deficit and defeated St. Mary's (Md.), 3-2 in St. Mary's, Md. Lancaster Bible had lost its previous six five-set matches prior to Tuesday night, including a 3-2 loss this past Friday against Meredith. With the victory, the Chargers are now 2-3 this season, while the Seahawks dropped to 2-3 with the loss, as Lancaster Bible won, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10.

How it Happened: After overcoming an early deficit, the Chargers took a 7-4 lead on a block assist by Bekah Roberts and Allison Shuey, and eventually led, 14-11 after an ace from Aleah Heyworth. St. Mary's closed the gap to two, 17-15 later in the set, but the Chargers hung tough, and closed out the set on a kill from Courtney Goyak.

Lancaster Bible led 18-13 midway through the second set, but the Seahawks won seven of the next nine points to tie the set at 20-20. With the match tied at 23-23, back-to-back errors from the Chargers gave the set to St. Mary's, 25-23. 

The third set was a replay of the second set, as the Chargers squandered a late lead, as the Seahawks overcame a 22-15 hole, and won the set, 25-23.

The Chargers trailed 11-9 early in the fourth set, but fought back to tie the set at 15-15, before taking the lead for good on a kill from Shuey. An error from the Seahawks gave the set to the Chargers, as they headed to a fifth set for the second time in 2018. 

Trailing 7-6 in the fifth set, Lancaster Bible rattled off six straight points to take a commanding, 12-7 lead. Ashtyn Bouslog crushed two kills during the run, and Hannah Gipe's kill gave the Chargers the set, 15-10 and the match, 3-2.

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible held a 54-52 edge in kills, and a 72-71 advantage in digs...The Chargers had 13 service aces, while the Seahawks had just three...Gipe led three players in double figure kills with 14, and she also added four digs and two blocks...Goyak had 13 kills and three blocks, while Bouslog had 12 kills and 14 digs...Hannah Thompson added a team-high 25 digs, and three aces...Heyworth finished with seven kills, eight digs and three blocks...Roberts had four kills and a team-best six blocks.

The Coach Says: "We finally got over the five-set hump," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Micah Herron said. "We honestly had chances to sweep them, but we made some adjustments after the third set, and played better in the fourth and fifth sets. It was a good mental fight for us, and I challenged the ladies to have a positive mindset throughout the match, and focus on the next ball."

On the grind of a tough match: "It was a long, 2 1/2 hour match, but the ladies battled through, and its nice to win, and make the three-hour trip home a little easier," Herron joked.

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 1-2 all-time against St. Mary's (Md.)...The Chargers last five-set victory came on Oct. 11, 2016 at Hood...Lancaster Bible was 0-5 last season in five-set matches...Thompson has 24 or more digs in each of her last four matches...Tuesday was the first true road match of the season for the Chargers, as the opening four matches were neutral site contests.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible returns to the court on Thursday at 7 p.m., when the Chargers take on Wilkes, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.