ADRIAN, Mich. - For the second time in as many matches, the Adrian women's volleyball team needed five sets to determine the outcome of their match. In this edition, however, the Bulldogs fought of a furious two-set comeback by Bluffton to knock off the Beavers 3-2 in front of a ruckus crowd at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center.

"This was a great learning experience for us," said head coach David Kwan. "We didn't want to take it into five, but we're learning to come out with a lot of pressure and learning to play under pressure."

In the definitive set, Adrian utilized a 5-0 run to pull ahead 9-4. Bluffton would string together a series of points to put themselves back in contention, but the visitors could never recover from the Bulldogs' earlier run, leading to a 15-10 final, capped off by back-to-back kills by Mallory Dorow and Ayden Cribbs.

"We really came together as a team," explained senior Lydia Christian. "We used a lot of communication, which I think is something we have struggled with in the past. Tonight definitely wasn't an individual win, it was a team win."

Christian, a defensive specialist for the black and gold, contributed 13 total digs and one assist in Wednesday evening's match.

The Bulldogs (2-4) stormed out to a two sets to none lead after the Beavers had opened the first frame with an 8-3 run.

In that first set, Adrian worked together streaks of 8-2 and 6-0 to recover from the early deficit en route to a 25-19 score. Then, in the following set, the home side raced ahead 6-1 and was able to hold back a late push by Bluffton.

Both the third and fourth sets were won by the Beavers by a score of 25-22. Adrian nearly complete an improbable seven-point comeback in the penultimate frame, but the opposition had just enough juice to force the winner-take-all fifth set.

Blaire Weiman, Cribbs and Katelyn Bergman each notched double-digit kills on the evening with 17, 15 and 10, respectively.

Hailey Farrell continues to be the 'Dogs' primary contributor in assists, closing out the night with 45. Weiman and Mya Minjares tallied 33 and 30 digs, respectively for Adrian.

Next up for the locals is the MIAA/NCAC crossover in Sandusky, Ohio this upcoming weekend.

"I think we're going to face the next level of competition with three very tough teams," said Kwan. "It will be a great test for us before we get into conference play."

Adrian will start the "Battle at the Point" on Friday afternoon against the College of Wooster at 5 p.m., but for now, the Bulldogs have a very valuable five-set victory to work off of.

"It's a continual growth every single week," expressed Kwan. "And it built into a good home win for us tonight."