CADIZ — Harrison Central would not be denied Thursday in Cadiz.

The Huskies battled some early service and attack error issues, adjusted their attack strategy, and made use of a great night of serving in handing visiting Indian Creek a marathon 20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 27-25, 15-12 defeat in five sets.

“I told the girls we had to be relentless, there was no other option,” Harrison Central head coach Grace Godich said as her team snapped five match losing skid to improve to 2-6. “I asked both the varsity and JV girls to come up with one word that they wanted this season to be, and all of those words meant relentless.”

Harrison hung with the Redskins throughout the first set, getting as close as down two at 20-22. But 11 service/attack errors, coupled with some strong hitting and defensive play in the middle of the net by Creek’s Cara Vandeborne allowed the visitors to take the first set.

Vandeborne, who finished with six blocks to go with a match-high 14 kills, was free swinging in the middle of the court thanks to strong sets from Gabby Taylor. The 6-foot-2 middle hitter was more than happy to hammer down kill shots that Harrison couldn’t get to.

But more importantly, the Huskies needed to find an answer for hitting either around or through Vandeborne.

That’s just what Harrison did. After watching enough blocks, including four from Emma Westfall, Godich decided to switch things up.

“We changed it up mid-set at one point and there was some confusion during that third set,” Godich admitted. “And it kind of effected us a bit, but I re-explained it and they took to it a lot better.”

Harrison doesn’t possess the size it did in previous seasons and only a couple of its hitters can truly sky high enough to hit on a true downward angle. What they did do was started hitting angles, as well as utilizing tips, drops, and quick passover shots off the second touch.

That coupled with an excellent night of serving allowed the hosts to capture the second set 25-16.

Hannah Grady led the way with seven aces, Jaylin Ward added six and Leah Grady finished with five as part of a 25-ace evening. Try as it may, Creek just couldn’t get its service receive together.

“That was probably the most aces we’ve had in a match this season, so I’m happy with that,” Godich admitted.

Harrison trailed 14-21 in the third set but roared back with seven straight points before Creek closed out the set with a Riley Sadler aces for a 25-21 final reading.

The teams battled in the fourth, when an error on a set attempt gave the Redskins a match point opportunity at 24-22.

But Hannah Grady pushed over the second hit deep into the playing area and Creek was unable to field it to force a win-by-two scenario.

Creek got match point against at 25-24, but Leah Grady recorded a kill to push it back to 25-25. After an attack error went long, Creek was unable to return Mikayla Pelegreen’s serve on the third hit to force the extra session.

The teams traded points again before a kill from Lillian Thomas set up match point and Ava Conley followed with her fourth and final kill for the win. Thomas hit off a block attempt from Vandeborne and Delaney Bates-Dallman attempted to get to the ricochet but was unable to hit it cleanly, giving Harrison the win.

Leah Grady finished with five assists and nine kills to go with her aces. She was also honored for reaching the 500 assist milestone in a recent match against Beaver Local. Mikayla Pelegreen, who totaled five aces to go with 25 digs, is now 25 away from 500 digs. Hannah Grady added 13 assists and six kills to her totals, while Ward notched five kills to go with her assists.

Westfall backed Vandeborne with 10 kills for Creek, with Sadler adding six kills and Gabby Taylor and Meghan Paoloemilio adding 16 and 7 assists, respectively.