TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School volleyball team waged a hard-fought battle with the Southeast Cyclones Tuesday night inside  Torrington’s Willi Gym.

The match came down to the final points in a 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13) win for the Lady Blazers in what proved to be a back-and-forth contest.

“We kill ourselves on errors. We missed 15 serves,” THS coach Chelsi Jackson said. “We have to get the mental game down. I don’t think it should have been that close.”

For Southeast head coach Roxanne Jolovich, the match was all about continued improvement.

“We are getting better every time we play,” she said. “Every time we step on the court, we are doing something better than the set before. As long as we continue to improve, continue to get better and peak at the right time, we are doing what we need to do.”

With Southeast leading 18-12 in the fourth set, leading the match 2-1, Torrington junior Reece Halley tallied back-to-back kills and had four total in a span of eight points to spark a Lady Blazer rally.

“She’s a big player for us,” Jackson said. “If she can put the ball down, she will. If I could get multiple players hitting at the same time, we’d be good.”

Torrington closed out the set to force a deciding fifth set with a kill from senior Avery West and a combined block from senior Sierra Allen and junior Allison Brummell.

In the fifth, Southeast jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind an ace from sophomore Brenna Herring.

“It is a team effort. It takes all 12 people, whether they are on the bench or on the court to win that match,” Jolovich said. “We played well at the net. We played good defense. From the serving line, that was one of our best serving games we’ve had in a while.”

The teams swapped the lead three times and were tied on four occasions over the remainder of the match.

Torrington held a 9-7 advantage, but Southeast junior Jordan Stoddard slammed home two kills, aiding the Lady Cyclone rally.

“Like everyone else on the team, she’s improved every time she goes out and plays,” Jolovich said. “She’s adjusting to the sets better. Every set is different, and she is adjusting.”

Southeast looked to put the match away late, leading 13-10, but coming out of a timeout, Brummell tallied a kill to cut into the deficit and slow the Lady Cyclone momentum.

“I thought Allison Brummell came alive tonight,” Jackson said. “That was the best I’ve seen her hit ever.”

Not long after that, Brummell’s block landed safely to the floor, securing the Lady Blazer victory.

Torrington (7-2 overall and 1-2 in the 3A Southeast) hosts Newcastle (0-8 and 0-2 in the 3A Northeast) on Friday at 4 p.m. for Homecoming.

Southeast (5-3) travels to Pine Bluffs (2-7) on Friday for a 5 p.m. contest and returns to Laramie County to face Burns (4-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday.