Running on fumes, the Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers found an energy source at just the right times Tuesday night.

Roncalli, fresh off a five-set marathon on Monday, did not possess its normal demeanor, but closed each set with a flurry in a 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 win over Milbank in Northeast Conference volleyball action at Roncalli Gym.

“It was so hard, but I think we all realized, man I don’t want to go into that fourth set,” said Roncalli senior Ava Hanson on the team’s sense of urgency at the close of the third set. “And that’s what has to be in the back of our heads. We just need to finish.”

It was Roncalli’s ability to finish each set that prevented a much longer match. The Cavaliers scored six of the last seven points to pull away from a 19-18 lead and take the opening set.

Roncalli then scored six of seven points in the second set to turn an 18-18 tie into a 24-19 advantage and eventually close out the second set.

“One thing that I’m really learning about this team and I’m extremely proud of them is that they’re learning how to close the sets,” said Roncalli coach Leesa Ware. “They’re learning how to not give up. They’re learning how to just come back and fight, which I’m super proud of them for.”

The Bulldogs appeared to be in good shape in the third set, leading 13-8 and later 19-15. However, Roncalli was not about to be denied. The Cavaliers quickly leveled the score at 20-20, and the punctuated the sweep by scoring the final five points of the match.

Hanson said fatigue from a prior match cannot be used an excuse. The team had to come up with solutions.

“When we were down 19-15 in the third set, what were we going to do to fix it? We had so many unforced errors, our passing wasn’t there, our feet weren’t moving, but what were we going to do to flip it?” Hanson said. “We had that little time out and (coach) told us to clean up those unforced errors and that’s exactly what we did.”

While the Cavaliers came up with the answers, the results left the Bulldogs feeling frustrated.

“We were so close, especially those last two and it is pretty frustrating,” said Milbank senior Isabella Anderson. “I felt like we were right there and if we just could have had one more play go our way, I feel like we could have beat them in one of those sets.”

McKenna O’Keefe had 13 kills and Hanson added 11 as the Cavaliers featured a balanced attack on offense.

“That’s exactly what we want. We want everybody as a hitter to be there, because if you have one hitter, you’re going to get blocked,” Hanson said. “There’s a lot of pressure on you, but if you have three good hitters that are able to hit the ball, you’re game is just going to be a lot better. It’s a team effort then, and that’s what we want.”

While O’Keefe and Hanson led Roncalli in hitting, the Cavaliers also benefitted from setter Maddie Huber dumping the ball early in the match, although the Bulldogs made adjustments to that tactic as the night wore on.

“In the first set it was hard to tell,” said Milbank’s Addisyn Krause of defending the no-look shot, “but in the second and third set we definitely moved our defense to cover those dumps.”

However, in the end, the Bulldogs were unable to get over the hump when it mattered most.

“We’ve had a difficult time finishing,” said Milbank coach Nancy Hoeke. “That’s in the back of their minds I’m sure over and over.”

Claire Snaza had 10 kills to lead the Bulldogs, while Anderson finished with three aces and five kills.

Hoeke said her players continue to work hard and she is hoping that effort will be rewarded in the postseason.

“I’d like to see them have something at the end here that is motivating for them and memorable for them,” Hoeke said.

The match was an important one as Roncalli is second in seed points in Region 1A and Milbank is third.

“It was a huge match for us in seed points,” Ware said.

Roncalli, 12-8, caps the regular season with matches at Deuel on Monday, and at home against Herreid-Selby Area on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs, 13-15, will now prepare for the upcoming playoffs. They plan to use the Roncalli setback as fuel for the journey.

“I think as a team we’re going to use this match to fight for our next ones,” Anderson said, “and kind of use it as motivation for postseason.”

Serving: Milbank 5 aces (Isabella Anderson 3, Addisyn Krause 1, Rylee Scoular 1); Aberdeen Roncalli 70-73 11 ace (Maddie Huber 12-13 4 aces, McKenna O’Keefe 13-13 2 aces).

Hitting: Milbank 22 kills (Claire Snaza 10, Anderson 5, Siera Wenzl 4, Avery Schuneman 3); Aberdeen Roncalli 120-149 43 kills (O’Keefe 33-40 13 kills, Ava Hanson 21-25 11 kills).

Setting: Milbank (Scoular 11 assists, Krause 9 assists); Aberdeen Roncalli 121-121 36 assists (Huber 109-109 33 assists).

Digs: Milbank 60 (Wenzl 16, Krause 15, Ella Sandvig 14); Aberdeen Roncalli 67 (Voeller 19, O’Keefe 18).

Blocks: Milbank 2 solo 6 assists (Anderson 1 solo 3 assists, Snaza 1 solo 1 assist, Krause 1 assists); Aberdeen Roncalli 2 assists (Hanson 1, Karsyn Davis 1).

Records: Milbank 13-15; Aberdeen Roncalli 12-8.