LYLE — The No. 8 seeded Lyle-Pacelli volleyball team didn’t flinch with its season on the line against No. 9 Christian Life Academy. After dropping two of the first three games, the Athletics found a way to turn the tide and as they rallied to knock off the Hawks by scores of 18-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-15, 15-8 in a Section 1A West play-in match in Lyle Monday.

CLA (18-9 overall) led 5-1 to start the fourth game and it led 5-2 to start the fifth game, but the Athletics (10-15 overall) were not going away. Lucy Nelson had a five-point serving run to put LP up 7-5 in the final game and Olivia Christianson had a five-point serving run that included two aces two push the lead to 14-7.

“I knew I just had to get the serve over because I’ve been struggling with my serve,” said Christianson, a sophomore who had 14 kills and six blocks. “I wanted to do it for the seniors tonight. I didn’t want it to be their last match.”

As LP found itself trailing with its season on the line, senior Brooke Walter began to go on the attack. Walter hit from all angles, including back-row kills and set kills, as she racked up 15 kills to go along with her 18 set assists and 13 digs.

“Abby [Bollingberg] was setting perfect and I was just focused. I didn’t want it to be my last game. It was working for me,” Walter said. “We knew every point mattered and if we lost we were done. We just weren’t going to let that happen.”

LP head coach Tammy Truckenmiller said the Athletics haven’t always been consistent this season, but she liked the energy her team showed from start to finish on Monday.

“All season long we’ve either lost our energy or started slow,” Truckenmiller said. “We kept our energy tonight and it was nice having Lucy [Nelson] back in the mix. They were motivating each other in the fifth game and they weren’t looking to us [coaches]. That was nice.”

LP will now play in top-seeded Hayfield in the Section 1A West quarterfinals on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“We know we’ve got to come out and play the best game we’ve ever played. We know it’s going to be tough,” Walter said.

LP stats: Brooke Walter, 15 kills, 18 set assists, 13 digs; Olivia Christianson, 14 kills, 11 digs, 6 blocks; Abby Bollingberg, 22 set assists, 16 digs, 4 kills; Faith King, 2 kills, 9 digs; Kendal Truckenmiller, 4 kills, 8 digs; Lucy Nelson, 4 kills, 9 digs; Vanessa Cotter, 11 digs