The Nashua North girls volleyball team celebrates its five-set win over Nashua South Wednesday night in the Battle of the Bridge. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Nothing is easy when it comes to the Battle for that darn Bridge, right?

Just ask the Nashua High School North girls volleyball team, loaded with talent, and dominating rival Nashua South in the first two sets Wednesday night, 25-15, 25-13.

But lo and behold, South took the next two, 25-17, 25-22 to force that fifth and deciding set, which the Titans took in pull-away fashion, 15-10 at the loud Belanger Gym.

The win gives North an 8-0 record, and if you go back to last year, it’s the program’s 16th straight regular season win.

“I think honestly, we just had to realize we have all the talent in the world on this team,” North senior hitter Alyssa Stanton, who had 13 kills, five aces, and 15 digs, said. “We all worked our butts off to get to where we are now. It’s just a mental game.

“We just came together, ‘Guys, we can do this. We got this.’ And we did.”

“I was extremely happy in the first two sets and I was pleased with how we rallied in sets three and four,” Titans coach Nicole Fitzgibbons said, “and especially how we closed in set five.

“In games like this, where you know everybody, you’ve seen everybody, you’ve played everybody, we bring out the best in each other. We know everyone’s strengths, everyone’s weaknesses, and we went five with them last year (a South win). You want to play them in three but you know it might go five. … I’m proud they were able to close it out.”

The Panthers fell to 3-4, and looked like a struggling team early, and then down 2-0 caught absolute fire to take the next two sets.

But with things tied at 6 in the deciding set, one South serve hit the net, then Mardy Novak and Kelechi Okorie had consecutive kills, and the Titans were en route to a 10-6 lead to take control.

“The fifth set’s a coin toss,” Panthers coach Tom Langer said. “It’s coming down to who can make the fewest mistakes. Couple things to our way, we’re winning that game. Couple things go their way, they won it.”

Okorie added nine kills and four blocks; Kailyn Sung chipped in with 20 digs, Novak had seven kills, 18 assists, nine digs and two aces, and Sasha Rabiova added 24 assists.

South’s best weapon last night was its serves. “When our serves are going in, we can rack up a lot of points,” Langer said.

Panthers Isha Bachwal and Mia Suljic combined for 11 aces. Bachwal added nine digs and Suljic also had three kills and nine digs.

Molly Lecklider added 17 digs, two kills and an ace, and Abby Kaplan had eight kills.

Nashua North’s Mardy Novak, left, reacts as Kelechi Okorie drops a shot that South’s Molly Lecklider can’t reach during the Battle of the Bridge Wednesday night at the Belanger Gym. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Even in defeat, South can take solace in making it a match.

“Couple of changes, putting the mistakes beside us, stepping up, and little success builds momentum and we just ran with it,” Langer said. “We kept fighting for it. … I think we have a lot to look forward to for the second half of the season.”

Of course, so does North, as a key has been Stanton, who is the player as a senior many felt she would become after seeing her thrive from sophomore year on.

“Absolutely,” Fitzgibbons said. “From the time she was a freshman, I’ve watched her grow, only as an athlete but as a person. To see her make a name for herself, not only in this sport, but just in the state with what she does, I couldn’t be happier for her.”

The Titans appear to be feeding off the roll they ended last season on.

“This team has the heart and soul of everything they want to be,” Fitzgibbons said. “They took everything, and picked up right where they left off (from last year). I had six returning seniors who said they were going to pick up right where they left off, and they meant it.”

“They’re all stepping it up,” Langer said of the Titans. “They should have a nice, deep run in the playoffs.”

Well, all bets might be off if they would have to see South again, right? A lot more would be at stake in a tournament setting then than just a measley bridge.

SOUTH LEADS OVERALL

The Panthers were up 5-1 heading into Wednesday in the Battle of the Bridge point standings, but North also won freshmen and JV volleyball to pull to within 5-4. The South JV golf team downed North on Tuesday.