On a night where the offense needed a jump start, it was a series of jump serves that provided the boost for Aberdeen Christian Tuesday night.

The Knights were a bit sluggish out of the gates, but racked up 15 aces to turn back Wilmot 25-19, 25-17, 25-22 in the quarterfinals of the Region 1B volleyball tournament at the Christian School Gym.

Sawyer Schwan and Payton Skarin each collected five aces to fuel the service attack.

“Between Sawyer and Payton, both, they came ready for serves,” said Christian coach Sara Powell.

The Knights needed that jolt because they had a difficult time shaking the pesky Wolves the entire night.

“We haven’t played a game in like what, a week and half, two weeks,” Powell said. “I don’t know if that makes a difference or not, them just being out of the groove of it, but they definitely came out slow.”

The opening set was tight the entire way and Wilmot led 19-18 before the Knights pulled away.

It was Schwan who pounded out two crucial aces to fuel a 7-0 surge to complete the set.

“First I just focus on getting it over and getting it in,” Schwan said. “I also aim for their weakest passers and open spots.”

A pair of serves were so close to the line that the Wolves did not play them, but they dropped just inside the baseline.

“It’s all about practice. We do pressure serving in practice, too,” Schwan said. “It’s where we all have to make it over and in, and if not, then we have a punishment.”

That punishment is running.

Wilmot led the second set 16-14 before Christian again pulled away and closed out the set on an 11-1 surge. Skarin had four of her aces during that run.

“We’re very strong at the net,” said Wilmot coach Jennifer Hanson, “but unfortunately our serve receive needs work.”

The Knights had a solid lead in the final set when the Wolves sliced an eight-point deficit down to 24-22 before Christian finished off the sweep.

The outcome was much closer than a previous encounter during the regular season.

“When we played them earlier in the season, we lost by quite a bit,” Hanson said. “We studied tape and we worked on what we needed to. We came out there and they fought. They fought hard. I think they surprised Aberdeen a bit.”

Wilmot relied on standout freshman Addison Heinje, who led the team with five kills and four blocks.

“She’s a great player. She’s fun to watch,” Powell said. “She’s going to be a challenge for the years to come.”

Heinje set the Wilmot school record with 50 points in basketball game last season, can also make a difference on the volleyball court.

“She’s been honest with us. She’s like, you know volleyball isn’t my first sport,” Hanson said. “But she comes out, she gives it everything. She’s got that competitive nature. She carries us in a lot of ways.”

Heinje said she doesn’t need to get the ball set to her on every point, but added “I do try to make it worth it when they do set me.”

However, Wilmot had a tough time keeping up with the multiple hitters of Christian. Jolie Fogarty topped the Knights with 11 kills, followed by Ari Johnson with eight, and Eri Cobbs and Sophia Eichler with six apiece.

“That’s what we’ve been working on in practice,” Powell said, “because we have such great hitters, just be able to get them all hitting percentage wise across the board, that’s what we wanted, so that’s good.”

Schwan found them throughout the evening, finishing with 30 set assists.

“I try to mix it up most of the time,” Schwan said of where to set the ball, “but also with my strongest hitters. I focus on them.”

The match marked the end of the season for the Wolves, who finished at 11-17.

“Just stay in the gym,” Heinje said, “keep working hard, getting better all the time.”

Hanson was pleased with her team’s final effort of the year.

“I told the girls leave everything you can on that court and I think they did,” Hanson said. “We had a great season, a lot of growth, a lot of growth in the younger athletes coming up.”

Christian improved to 17-12 on the season. The Knights will now travel to Warner on Thursday to take on the top-seeded Monarchs in the semifinals.

“We definitely have to play more aggressive and be ready for it,” Powell said. “We know what to expect with them, we know how well they play, so it’s just coming out, being mentally ready, hitting, less errors.”

Serving: Wilmot (Arianna Hart 2 aces, Mya Heinje 2 aces, Adrienne High Eagle 1 ace); Aberdeen Christian (Payton Skarin 5 aces, Sawyer Schwan 5 aces, Ari Johnson 4).

Hitting: Wilmot (Addison Heinje 5 kills, Jada Cameron 4 kills); Aberdeen Christian (Jolie Fogarty 11 kills, Ari Johnson 8 kills, Eri Cobbs 6 kills, Sophia Eichler 6 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Christian (Schwan 30 assists, Alexis Isakson 3 assists).

Digs: Wilmot (Brooklyn Remund 5, M. Heinje 5, Cameron 3, A. Heinje 3, High Eagle 2, Hart 2); Aberdeen Christian (Isakson 24, Schwan 10, Fogarty 7).

Blocks: Wilmot (A. Heinje 4, Cameron 3); Aberdeen Christian (Johnson 3).

Records: Wilmot 11-17; Aberdeen Christian 17-12.