Once the Highland Baptist volleyball team shook off some first-round playoff jitters, the Lady Bears took control of their Division V bi-district game on Tuesday.

The 16th-seeded Lady Bears dropped the first set, then won the next three to advance past No. 17 St. John-Plaquemine, 17-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-20.

“It took a minute for our confidence to come into play and start doing what we worked on in practice,” HBCS coach Chynna Brooks said. “There are always some jitters in a big game, but the girls pulled through. They played confidently and hit the shots we needed.”

The Lady Eagles (19-14) came into the match having won eight of their last nine games. St. John scored the first four points of the first set, but the Lady Bears rallied to take a 12-10 lead on two aces from Emile Beinek. St. John scored the next four points and led by as many as nine.

“After the first set, I was thinking we needed to get it together,” HBCS senior Lilly Harris said. “I knew we could beat them. We worked too hard not to.”

The Lady Bears (17-15) only trailed once in the second set, and that was when St. John scored the first point. The Lady Eagles overcame a 20-16 deficit with four straight points, but Ali Louviere served an ace, followed by a kill from Harris. Rylee Guthrie’s ace finished the set.

“Rylee served a heck of a game,” Brooks said. “She served lights out. That was one of our keys – to serve tough and keep them out of system. She also played good defense with some really good touches.”

The Lady Bears trailed 17-10 in the third set before winning eight of the next nine points. St. John broke the 18-18 tie, moved ahead 22-18 and led 24-23 before the Lady Bears scored the final three points. Louviere assisted Harris for a kill, Ava Armentor put a shot down and a St. John hitting error ended the set.

“That’s nothing new for this team,” Brooks said. “We’ve had a bunch of come from behind wins. When the girls get on a roll and get their confidence, they can do anything.”

The Lady Bears surged ahead 20-12 in the fourth set after initially falling behind, 11-10. Louviere kickstarted the run with three assists and consecutive aces. When St. John got within 20-16, Louviere scored again. Armentor provided the final point off an assist from Harris to set off a celebration in the HBCS gym.

“It’s awesome for this team, coming from where we were last year,” Brooks said. “It all goes back to them having confidence in themselves and being able to close out those games where we’re behind. It goes to show they can do whatever they put their mind to.”

Statistical leaders were Louviere (27 assists, seven digs, four kills, four aces), Armentor (19 digs, 12 kills), Guthrie (nine digs, six kills, three aces), Harris (eight kills, six digs, two assists), Beinek (seven digs, three aces), Addisen Yates (four digs) and Madison Clark (five kills).

“Ava came through when we needed her,” Brooks said. “She’s our big hitter. Our defensive specialists (Yates and Beinek) communicated, played good defense and were able to dig some crazy balls.

“Both Lilly Harris and Ali Louviere did awesome. We switched things up today and let Lilly set a little so Ali could hit. Not many people may know this, but Ali is a really good hitter. She kind of got stuck serving for us.”

The Lady Bears will face the winner of Tuesday’s No. 1 Country Day (22-9) vs. No. 32 Northeast (13-15) in the regional round with the winner advancing to the LHSAA state tournament next week at the Cajundome.