The Eagles controlled much of the action versus visiting Lake Region on Thursday night, Oct. 8, winning three decisive sets while giving up just one, and that only narrowly.

“You try to play harder and more intense than them,” said Lake Region head coach Ryan Shible, “and they beat us out on a few games. But we move on.”

The Eagles grabbed a quick lead in the first set, and never looked back. Windham went up 9-1 before Lake Region began to struggle back. The Lakers eventually cut their deficit to six, 15-9. From there, though, the Eagles relinquished just one more point, while amassing 10 of their own and winning 25-10.

Windham head coach Chris Cloutier praised a number of his girls. “Jamie Jannarone played well; she was out there being aggressive, getting some kills. I think she had two kills, but 11 aces. She was serving well. Miranda Potvin was being aggressive out there on the floor, trying to take control.”

Lake Region jumped ahead to start the second set, if not by much. The Lakers maintained a slim advantage until Windham managed to tie things at 8-8, then 9-9. The Eagles inched forward by two, but Lake Region showed their grit in recovering and slowly gaining ground, till they were up 19-14.

The Lakers stumbled at 24-21, however, and Windham pulled even again at 24-all. But Lake Region’s continued determination ultimately paid off with a 26-24 set win.

Alas, the Lakers couldn’t maintain that fire through two more sets. They opened the third up 2-0, but stalled there for a long stretch, allowing Windham eight unanswered points. The Eagles soon wedged the game open wider, reaching 20-9 before winning 25-16.

“It all comes down to communication, moving, responding to the ball,” said Shible of the difference between his girls’ play in the three sets they dropped versus the one they captured.

“Unfortunately, we struggled on a few plays, they got a hold of a few good serves on us. Other than that, our girls played really hard tonight. They made some great plays, [Windham] just edged us out on a few other plays. We’ll get ’em next time.”

For Cloutier, the difference between the girls’ work in the trio of sets they won versus the lone set they lost was preparedness. “Us being ready defensively, was really kind of what got us in that one we lost,” he said. “We weren’t quite ready for the stuff that was coming back at us quickly.

“And, we made some service errors in that set. We served probably 55 or 60 percent, and we have a goal of 90 percent. We’re usually 80 percent or plus; we’ve had a couple matches where we hit 90 percent, but we’re typically in the 84, 85, 86 (percent) range.”

The final set was a similar story, except Lake Region kept close on Windham’s heels till 10-8, when the Eagles broke away, reaching 14-8 then 21-9. Windham took the round, 25-16, and the match 3-1.

It’s not easy to claw back from a deep deficit. “It can be tough,” Shible says. “It’s psychological. Half the game is psychological. So we just try to take it one play at a time. I tell the girls, ‘Just get that ball up; focus on keeping it simple.’”

Windham goes to 9-3 on the season. The Eagles rank sixth in Class A at present, just back from Scarborough (7-4) and ahead of Yarmouth (8-3); they traveled to No. 9 Bonny Eagle (8-3) on Wednesday the 14th, after the Current Publishing’s print deadline.

Despite the loss, Shible was happy with some of his girls’ performances. “We had some great sets from our setter, Catherine, our Captain, Catherine Christiansen. Great sets from Amanda Botros, our other Captain, our other Setter. Our middle-hitter, Melissa Bonenfant, had some great plays in the middle. Some great serves from Lyndsey Keenan.”

Lake Region slides to 3-10 in Class B, where they occupy the No. 8 seed, the last of the playoff spots. The Lakers closed their regular season at No. 11 Wells (2-9) on Tuesday the 13th with a narrow 3 sets to 2 loss.

Windham’s Miranda Potvin knuckles the ball back over the net at her Lake Region opposition.Lily MacPherson rips a volley for the Eagles in their matchup with visiting Lake Region on Thursday.Paige Pandora leaps and bats a ball back at Lake Region in the teams’ bout on Thursday.Windham’s Megan Osgood lofts a ball up for a teammate to, perhaps, smash back at the Lakers on Thursday.Lyndsey Keenan returns a volley for the Lakers; Eagles Paige Pandora and Jamie Jannarone defend.Lake Region’s Alex Hedly knocks a ball back at the Eagles.Catherine Christiansen returns a ball for Lake Region.