TOWANDA — League leading Towanda fought off a tough Wyalusing squad, 3-1, during NTL volleyball action Tuesday.

The Knights won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-18, then saw the Rams pull off a 27-25 third set win. Towanda would close out the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.

"This is just the first stop on a long two weeks we have going on," said Towanda coach Cassie Smith. "The league is so tough, Wyalusing's so tough, so to see our girls come out and get ahead two sets to none, that was huge for us. I knew we dropped that third set, but they really rallied back in the fourth to take it. I'm so proud of them for that."

Karis Flynn had a quadruple-double with 17 points, 10 digs, 14 assists, and 10 kills, as Lariah Long finished with 16 digs, five kills, seven points, and an ace.

Kendall Kellogg had 20 points, five kills, 10 digs, one block, and four aces, as Addy Barrett finished with six kills, four points, two blocks, and five digs.

Brynsen Vargason had 18 digs and a point, as Kylee Barnes had five blocks, and three kills. Ali Hollett chipped in with seven points, nine assists, one ace, and five digs, with London Decker adding an ace.

Long credited their success to fast starts - which they had in three of the four sets - and forced Wyalusing to seemingly always be rallying.

"The key was to get ahead and stay ahead," she said. "No matter what we can never let up. We had to keep our energy strong, and have a good defensive game."

Energy is one thing Long has in abundance out on the court.

"I bring the energy," she remarked. "Volleyball is a very energy game, and I feel like positive energy gets everybody hyped, and we just do so good with energy."

Emily Johns had 12 kills for Wyalusing with Katelynn Roberts getting 11 kills. Jalynn Herda had five kills, Josie Ferris finished with four kills, as Raelyn Jayne and Addi Vanderpool had two kills apiece.

Bristol Roberts and Adalyn Herbert each had a kill.

The Knights led early in the first set but Wyalusing rallied to tie it up at 16-all. Towanda pushed forward for a 22-17 lead behind kills from Barrett, Hollett, and Kellogg. 

However, Wyalusing scored three straight points off two errors, and a Herda block.

A bad Ram serve made it 23-20, but a Johns kill, a Herda ace, and a Roberts kill tied the set up at 23-all.

The two teams traded points to 24, then Barnes had back to back kills for Towanda for the win.

The second saw Towanda jump out to a 9-2 lead, and even push it to double digits. Wyalusing cut it to 21-17, but were out scored 4-1 over the next five points.

In the third set the teams found themselves tied up at 16 again with Wyalusing taking a 19-16 lead between a Johns kill, a Johns block, and a Roberts kill. 

Towanda rallied back to make it 19-all behind a Flynn kill, and a Hollett ace.

After the Rams got a side out Roberts went off, getting three kills over the next four points to put the Rams up 24-19.

A Flynn kill gave the Knights the serve back, and Long served them back to 24-all.

A Ferris kill ended that run, but that was followed by a Flynn kill to make it 25-all. Herda would get a block to put the Rams up by one, then Ferris sealed the win with an ace.

The fourth set saw Towanda once again take a lead with Wyalusing cutting it to 20-17. A Long kill followed by an ace from her put the Knights up 22-17. 

Back to back attacking errors from Towanda made it a 3-point set again, but Long answered with a kill.

After a Ram kill made it a 3-point set, the two teams traded points, then a Wyalusing block landed out to give the Knights the 4-point win.

"Her serve was really good," Smith said about Long. "It came in clutch a few times, and being our fifth server, that's usually what tends to happen. It puts her in these bigger moments, and she did a really nice job. I would say more so, defensively, she got to a lot of stuff, which really, really helped us on the offensive side."

Towanda travels to NPL on Thursday, a team that came into the week with an 11-match win streak, with their last loss coming at the hands of Towanda.

"We're going to enjoy this one tonight, and tomorrow we're going to go right back to work to prepare our girls for the next match," said Smith. "I've told these girls all season long it's one match, one point at a time, and they really embraced that, so we're excited for it."

It's been a while since Towanda has been playing for a league title, and these final two weeks will tell the tale.

"It feels really good," Long said. "We have been working a long time, but I think we're just gaining the confidence. Every one of our players are working harder and harder every practice."

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