After dropping the first set by a 25-10 score and falling behind 4-1 to start the second, things looked dire for the Fatima volleyball team.
Instead, the Lady Comets rallied for a 26-24 win in the second and then went on to take the deciding set from the Jefferson City Lady Jays by a 25-23 score.
Fatima coach Sherri Kincaid said the key for the Lady Comets after the first game was simple.
"We had to be smarter with the ball," she said after the win at Fleming Fieldhouse. "That first game, we just worried about what was going on on our side of the ball. We didn't look at matchups on the other side and what would work for us.
"We were often taking it at (Jefferson City middle hitter) Mary (Wehmeyer), who is an extremely good blocker, and that's just not smart on our part to go there."
Jefferson City coach Lisa Hoffmeyer agreed the key to Thursday's match was the mental side of play.
"We have been continuing to stress with our kids to outthink the opponent," she said. "Outplay and outhustle, we want that to be a part of what we do 100 percent of the time. Now we want them to start outthinking our opponents.
"I felt like (Fatima) started to pick us apart with that short ball in the middle and we just didn't respond quickly enough."
Wehmeyer had six of her match-high 10 kills the opening set and also contributed a block as Jefferson City was never seriously challenged after winning the first five points.
The second set was a much different story, as there were 10 ties and six lead changes. Each team led by as many as four points before surrendering it, only to rally back again.
"They started to pick us apart a little better and then we got uncomfortable," Hoffmeyer said. "It's been an issue for us, being able to calm the nerves and do what we need to do. We tend to get rattled, and it wasn't as bad as it's been in the past, we responded better, but it continues to be a struggle for us."
Fatima was up 19-17 before Jefferson City ripped off five straight points to lead 22-19, the last on an ace by Wehmeyer.
But Fatima got back-to-back kills by Makenzie Thoenen and Kenadi Huhn to halt the run.
A block by Baylee Rozier then gave the Lady Jays a 23-21 lead, but the Lady Comets won five of the final six points to win it, the last coming on a block by Courtney Kempker.
It energized the Fatima portion of the crowd, as both schools had extremely vocal student sections for the match.
"We're obviously going to have more fans here than for some of our farther-distance matches, so it wasn't a homefield advantage at all (for Jefferson City)," Kincaid said. "Obviously they had a great crowd here tonight, but it helped to have what we had. We had a good number of fans here."
The third set continued a trend for Fatima. After dropping their first three four-set matches this season, the Lady Comets broke that streak with a win against Westminster Christian in the final match of last weekend's Springfield Classic.
"We said (against Westminster Christian), "We've got to break this pattern. We've got to stop it.' And we did," Kincaid said. "Then tonight was huge. The girls pushed through. We often look tired in the third set, but tonight we didn't at all. They gave 100 percent."
Jefferson City got its only lead of the final game by taking the first point, but Fatima's lead was never too comfortable.
The Lady Comets appeared to be in control after an ace made it 20-14 and forced the Lady Jays to take a timeout. But after the break, the up official overruled the call on the court and called the serve out, giving Jefferson City the ball trailing 19-15.
The Lady Jays then got two points on a kill by Rozier and a block by Tatum Gaines before the Lady Comets appeared to stop the run with a block. But after an extremely slow call, the officials ruled the Fatima blocker in the net, giving a point to Jefferson City.
The Lady Jays then tied it at 19, and it was also knotted at 22 before the Lady Comets took control and eventually won it on a kill by Tara Buthod.
"We got there in the end, and that's what it comes down to," Kincaid said. "We're trying to teach them that you don't get style points, you get points. Sometimes you've just got to find a way to get the ball down, and that's what they learned tonight."
Buthod racked up eight service points, including two aces, 11 digs and seven kills to pace Fatima. Emily Keilholz had 11 assists and nine digs, and Kiley Williams had seven kills.
Maddi Stone had seven kills and 14 digs for the Lady Jays and Cameryn Campbell had 17 digs. Gaines and Wehmeyer had 11 service points apeice, with Wehmeyer getting two aces.
"I think our kids have come a long way," Hoffmeyer said. "We saw a huge step in the right direction tonight. They're fighting, they're playing tough. ... It's a loss, but tonight we still get to walk out of the gym proud because of the way our kids competed."
In the JV match, Jefferson City posted a 25-18, 25-23 win. Stephanie Fisher had eight kills for the Lady Jays, Veronica Allison had 15 assists and Emma Gretlein had three blocks.
Fatima won the freshman match 25-14, 25-13. Micah Linthacum had four aces for Jefferson City.