The win marked the third straight for the Red Storm as the team defeated the Patriots by scores of 25-17, 25-11 and 25-15.

After a defensive standoff against Northern Adirondack on Tuesday that saw three straight close sets, the Red Storm appeared like it was going to have to battle again.

The first set started out going back and forth until Saranac Lake captured the set. The second set was controlled by the Red Storm.

“We bounced back from NAC,” Saranac Lake coach Mike Navarra said. “NAC was a tough match that we had to work really hard against a really good defensive team. I said to them, ‘You shouldn’t have over 100 digs. We have to transition and convert our offense,’ which means we need to get our hitters hitting and that’s exactly what we did tonight.”

Saranac Lake’s Alison Hewitt gets ready to make a play on the ball with Azra Michael standing next to her during Thursday’s match against AuSable Valley. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

In the third set, the Patriots kept the game close, as the team held a 14-13 lead over the Red Storm. Then the Red Storm went on a 12 to 2 run to win the final set.

“AuSable was a great team,” Navarra said. “They played really well in the first match. But as anyone knows mentally when you get them down you gotta keep them down, and I think that is what happened. I feel serving and using their mind were a big difference.”

Navarra said a big factor in the win was the consistent serving, adding that the team worked together and played a much more mental game. Six Saranac Lake servers recorded an ace.

Saranac Lake’s Alyssa Lapierre stepped up on offense with 11 points, and Azra Michael led the team with eight assists.

Alison Hewitt paved the way on defense with 10 digs. She also had six points, two aces, an assist and a kill. On defense, Anica Null had eight digs and Tailor Whitson had seven.

Saranac Lake's Tailor Whitson jumps up to spike the ball during Thursday's match against AuSable Valley.(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Navarra said the team will continue to improve, adding that it’s a working progress.

“All these teams are competitive. Every single player in our section is really good,” Navarra said. “I do think we do need to improve on consistency because we are going to be facing some tough teams. We are not going to take anything lightly, not one team.”

The Red Storm will play the Blue Bombers in Lake Placid on Monday.

“They (Lake Placid) can be a very good team and we look forward to the challenge,” Navarra said.