A North Bend player sends a spike across the net at Marshfield's defense during the Civil War matchup on Tuesday. World Photo by Lou Sennick.

NORTH BEND — As North Bend and Marshfield pulled even at 18 points in the third game of a Civil War volleyball match-up Tuesday night, the Bulldogs looked flustered and the Pirates seemed to believe they could come back from two games down.

But it didn’t last.

The Bulldogs survived a scrappy third-game surge from the Pirates, taking cross-town rivalry volleyball honors by winning in three games, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-21. 

“We were ready to go from the beginning,” said Bulldog libero Ashley Horlacher, who tallied 18 digs in the match. “We got behind a little bit, but we did awesome defensively. We always had digs.”

Marshfield was hampered by the absence of two key players — setter Nikki Gross and middle blocker/right-side hitter Kasey Kuhn — and the shorthanded Pirates struggled to finish rallies.

“I think we played afraid to make mistakes,” said Marshfield coach Tammie Montiel. “And when you get tentative, passive, you actually make more mistakes.”

North Bend used solid defense and timely hitting at the net to cruise to wins in the first two games with relatively little trouble, although the Pirates inched within 15-14 in the opening game on a nice tip from outside hitter Jessica Hockema. But then the Bulldogs pulled away, never letting Marshfield get any closer than two points as outside hitter Haley Dunham smashed three kills during the run to the 25-19 final. Dunham finished with 10 kills, three blocks and 14 digs overall.

The second game wasn’t so close. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-3 lead and never looked back, at one point going up 20-12 en route to the 25-16 win.

That set up the third game, which was tight most of the way. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead, then the teams traded off leads, at one point going even at 10 apiece on a beautiful tip from Bulldog setter Katie Banta that kissed the left sideline. Marshfield middle blocker Natalie Caffey came right back with a nifty set of her own, though, placing it right in the back left corner as the North Bend team could only watch.

Marshfield hovered around a two-to-three point lead throughout as Dunham, who had been dominant at the net, began to look frustrated, along with her teammates.

But the Bulldogs rallied, as did Dunham, who hit several key shots as North Bend battled to a 20-18 lead.

“My team really kept me up. They always do,” said Dunham of her momentary frustration. “And the crowd, too. They were awesome.”

The 20-18 score was as close as it got, although back-to-back blocks from Pirate outside hitter Kara Young did bring the game within 24-21. A Marshfield service error ended the match.

“We just didn’t come ready to play. We thought we had it in the bag, but (the Bulldogs) just wanted it more,” said Pirate libero Brittney Young, who did see a silver lining in the loss. “This will bring us together more as a team.”

Young tallied 18 digs for the Pirates, while Caffey chipped in seven kills, Kara Young added six kills and setter Katelyn Richmond filled in for Gross with 18 assists.

Outside hitter Alexandra Mateski had nine kills and 17 digs for the Bulldogs, while Banta added four kills, nine digs and 25 assists.

North Bend coach Les Willett said after the game he was happy with the team’s play, especially defensively.

“I’m pleased. You never know when you play Marshfield. They always compete, and they did tonight, too. I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief all night,” said Willett. “We did play a good game at the net, and I was really pleased defensively.”

He finished by saying the win was a step in the right direction.

“This time of the year, we’re getting ready for league play,” he added. “We want to get better with every game, and we are.”

Montiel was impressed with the Bulldogs as well.

“They’re scrappy, good defensively,” she said. “We came in here expecting to have a fight.”

And Montiel said she’s sure her team will rebound.

“We’re starting to get some players back from injuries,” she said. “We’re finding a team that will play together as a unit.”