BENICIA HIGH’S Karah Fisher (left) and Emily Maher celebrate after the Lady Panthers beat Vanden in five sets to move into first place.

Down two sets to none against unbeaten Vanden last Thursday, it looked like Benicia High’s varsity volleyball team was destined to have its streak of five straight Solano County Athletic Conference championships come to an end. But then the Lady Panthers came back to life, making all the big plays down the stretch to pull out an exciting 22-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-6 victory.

The win pulled Benicia even with Vanden in the SCAC standings, each team 8-1 in conference play. A Vanden win would have given the Lady Vikings a season-series victory over Benicia. Now the two teams will likely battle for the SCAC title when they meet again Oct. 25 in Fairfield.

“We knocked them off their pedestal,” Benicia senior Semele Hargis said of the Lady Vikings (11-1 overall), who had dropped only one set prior to Thursday’s loss.

“We knew this was our last chance to win league and we don’t ever want to lose to Vanden,” added senior Jessica Blakeman, who led Benicia with 19 kills. “I knew we could do it. When we work as a team, we can do anything.”

Benicia (10-2 overall) led 21-15 in the opening set, only to see Vanden roll off 10 of the final 11 points to take early command. Tied 20-20 in the second set, the Lady Panthers made several unforced errors and suddenly found their backs to the wall.

“We knew we needed to pick it up,” Hargis said. “It’s our last year for the seniors and we really wanted to win this, not just for us but for coach Jamie (Hadenfeldt).”

“We didn’t block well at the net early on and Vanden was swinging away, but once we started getting touches on the block, we did way better,” Blakeman said.

Benicia made its move midway through the third set. Hargis ripped a kill, Emily Maher won a point at the net and Blakeman rattled off two kills for an 18-13 Benicia lead. Another kill from Maher and Blakeman gave Benicia some momentum.

“We have a tradition of being good and when things get tough for us, we continue to compete and don’t get down,” Hadenfeldt said.

Vanden led 14-7 in the fourth set, but big hits from Hargis, Blakeman, Maher and Sara McBride pulled Benicia even at 18-18. Vanden, not used to playing competitive matches, fell apart late and Blakeman made them pay with several big kills to even the match.

“She takes a lot of responsibility as a senior captain and she knows our team really relies on her to produce, and she did a great job,” Hadenfeldt said of Blakeman.

The final set was all Lady Panthers. Two kills from Blakeman and a kill by Maher gave Benicia a quick 3-0 lead. Hargis added a kill, and several Vanden unforced errors put Benicia up 11-2. Vanden pulled to within 12-5, but a kill by McBride, a block by Darian Dudley, an ace by Natalie Sluga and another kill by Blakeman finally finished off the Lady Vikings.

Benicia hosts fourth-place American Canyon on Tuesday.

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