The Cathedral Catholic High School girls varsity volleyball team topped the Del Norte Nighthawks 3-0 during the first game of the CIF playoffs on Friday at the Claver Center.

“It was a very good game,” CCHS varsity girls volleyball coach Juliana Evens said. “I was very pleased to see how good Del Norte played. They gave us a fantastic game and they played their hearts out. But I feel like my girls didn’t let up. We kept fighting and there were times that weren’t pretty when we were struggling a little bit, but we never let down and we kept fighting, so it was a good win.”

After the Nighthawks scored the first two points of the match, CCHS senior Alexandra Dorn lead the charge to push the Dons lead to 6-3 through a series of successful blocks and aces. Later in the first set, the Nighthawks managed to forge a lead, but sophomore Megan Faraimo and senior Cali Bunn executed several kills to even the score 10-10.

Senior Marisa Sacco’s serves were instrumental in bringing the Dons to a 15-11 lead. As the Nighthawks kept spiking the ball out of bounds, the Dons managed several double blocks and saves that propelled the Dons toward sealing the first set.

“I think our blocking really picked up and that helped change the pace of the game,” Junior Brennan Wilhite said. “I think we had a lot of smart plays during important times, so that really helped us get ahead.”

With the Dons ahead 19-18, Nighthawk Katie Henderson served the ball, leading to an extended rally which ended with Del Norte leveling the score to 19-19. Kills by Faraimo and Dorn and blocks by junior Cambria Galloway and Bunn allowed the Dons to push ahead for good 24-20. Sophomore Sarah Blacker came in to score the winning ace, closing the set at 25-21.

“I served the winning score point when we had 24 points on the board,” Blacker said. “I came in to serve and I got an ace so that was very nerve-racking, but it was exciting. There was one play where there was a ball that dropped and we got it up and earned a game point. That really helped us.”

The Dons started the second set with a flurry of aces and kills that pushed the score to 12-6 before the Nighthawks called timeout. The Nighthawks came back with two powerful kills, bringing the score up to 12-8. The Dons responded with two kills under Sacco’s serve, one notably by Galloway that raised the score 14-9. Dorn, Faraimo and Galloway collectively performed a number of kills that brought the score to 18-14 while Dorn, Woodard and senior Krystyn Pua served.

The Nighthawks tied the score 21-21 after successfully blocking and jousting the Dons under senior Isabella Parise’s serve, but a violation called against the Nighthawks brought the score to 22-21.

Under Blacker’s serve, Woodard brought the score up to 23-21 after a successful block, and Blacker earned the final attack point by serving the last ace of the second set just as she did during the end of the first set. The Dons finished the second set 25-21 after the Nighthawks were called for a net violation.

“I felt that Lauren got a lot of good sets with a very tough block, so she made really good shots and kept us in the game,” Evens said. “Megan also just had some really amazing hits. I felt like my middles fluctuated – sometimes they played well, sometimes they didn’t so much, but I felt like everybody had their highlight moments at times. But I would say Megan and Lauren were the big timers of the second set.”

CCHS powered through with a kill at the beginning of the third set, but the Nighthawks regained the ball and obtained a 5-1 lead over the Dons. Faraimo and junior Shaney Lipscomb attempted to make several failed blocks and kills, but the Dons evened the score at 6-6.

The Nighthawks effortlessly held a lead over the Dons throughout much of the third set, and at one point, the Dons were down 16-12. Faraimo broke through and made a kill that brought the score to 16-13, and Lipscomb later made a block that tacked on a point.

“During the third game, we obviously had to make a comeback,” Galloway said. “I definitely thought a game-changing moment was when Megan Faraimo got a kill when we were down four points. That really helped us.”

After raising the score 15-16, the Dons began to lose several points to the Nighthawks. At one point, the Nighthawks held a 21-17 lead over the Dons, making it seem like the Dons were going to drop the third set. However, CCHS turned the game around and tied the score 21-21 through a series of double blocks. The Nighthawks made one last kill that gave them a 22-21 lead.

The Dons regained the ball and raised the score to 24-22 after Lipscomb made a block, and in the last play of the night, the Nighthawks spiked the ball out of bounds. The Dons won the third set 25-22.

“Personally, I didn’t have my best game tonight,” Lipscomb said. “I was put in for the last few points and I came in and got the last two points in the game. That was pretty big because I proved to myself that I could turn the game around at that moment. Overall, I think the team could’ve played a lot better, but I think we’re just warming up for the competition we have to come. We have two very big games coming up, and this was just a warmup for us.”

The girls varsity volleyball team beat Canyon Crest Academy 3-2 on Tuesday during the CIF semifinals, and it will host Torrey Pines on Saturday at the Claver Center