Hollis Brookline girls volleyball players celebrate a big point during their 3-2 win over Bishop Guertin at the Colligadome on Monday night. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – They got energized at the right time.

The Hollis Brookline High School girls volleyball team was facing a bit of pressure on Monday night at the Bishop Guertin Colligdome.

They had lost a tough three-set match on Friday at Goffstown, and the high flying Cardinals, 3-0 going in,were poised to prove they were arguably the area’s best team. BG was up 2-1 heading into the fourth set – the Cards actually almost swept as they blew a late lead in the second set – before HB pulled out a 3-2 win. The Cavs (3-1) took the last two points for a 15-13 fifth set win after BG had rallied down 11-6 to tie it at 13.

“They’re just really resilient, they work very hard at that,” HB coach Becky Balfour. “We had a lot of people step up. This says a lot, especially after coming off a loss.

“We just told them to relax and play. Having that energy, having that resilience.”

“We could have pulled that out if we had that energy and a little bit of luck on our side,” Guertin coach Kyle Clement said. “That was tough. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way, that’s volleyball.”

Clement had to be frustrated because after taking the first set 25-19, the Cards, who were without one of their best net players in Thalia Drapeau (ankle, a non-volleyball injury), were poised to go up 2-0 with a 23-20 lead in the second set. But HB took advantage of long hits by the Cards to take five straight points and the win. Guertin recovered to take set three 25-17, but HB evened things up by the same score to set up the drama.

Kate Berrigan led HB with 11 kills and four aces while Maggie Noble had eight kills, Anika Carlson seven and Lolly Adair six. Hershey Vedula had three aces. The first four are seniors and co-captains, but Adair was the team’s emotional leader on the floor, telling her team with things tied at 7-all in the fourth set, “Right now. Right now.”

They heard her.

“We talk a lot about energy at practice,” Adair said. “We’re able in those tough moments to be like hey, we know how we play at practice, we know how we play when we’re winning. Be competitive and stay aggressive. BG’s such a great team, and we knew going into this we had to be the team with the more energy.”

Hollis Brookline’s Maggie Noble reaches to hit a return vs. Bishop Guertin’s Avery Zapenas reaches to hit a return during Monday night’s match vs. BG in the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Hollis Brookline’s Maggie Noble reaches to hit a return vs. Bishop Guertin’s Avery Zapenas reaches to hit a return during Monday night’s match vs. BG in the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The Cards won the third set 25-17 but didn’t seem to have the same energy until they rallied down 12-8 in the deciding set to tie it at 13. After an HB time out, it came down to a Berrigan kill to take the lead and then a mishit by BG to end it.

For BG, Arika Coravos had plenty of vicious kills, while Allison Marino and Caitlin Harrington were keys as well. Marino had to step in for Drapeau as a middle hitter.

“She stepped up huge,” Clement said. “She’s not used to playing middle and did a great job, I’m really proud of her.”

And of the rally that BG led by Coravos down five points to tie things up in Set 5.

“Usually you go down like that, it’s pretty much game over,” Clement said, “and they’re winning that fifth set with a 10-point lead. But they fought back and got it as close as you can get it.”