However, when the Nighthawks finally got going, they seemingly couldn’t be stopped as Peru mounted a two-set hole to earn a 3-2 sectional victory at Saranac Central School.

The Red Storm had entered the title game, just two days removed from their upset victory over the No. 2 seed Plattsburgh Hornets in the sectional semifinal, and were riding a bit of a high. However, the Nighthawks just caught some momentum to steal the crown.

Despite falling, Saranac Lake’s head coach, Megan Czadzeck, said she was super proud of her team.

“I mean, we beat the No. 2 team to get here,” she said. “We were the number three seed team. They fought really hard. They’ve been working hard on practice days. They’ve been watching films; they’ve just been really strategic. They didn’t go down today without a fight … They fought really hard.”

Saranac Lake’s Kasey Clark plays the ball during Thursday’s Section VII, Class B Championship game against Peru at Saranac Central School. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Saranac Lake kicked off the match with a 25-22 win in the first game, before winning the next set 25-18. The Nighthawks then grabbed a 25-19 third set victory, and narrowly won the fourth game 26-24, despite a strong push by the Red Storm. In the fifth and final set, Peru sealed the deal with a 15-3 win.

Czadzeck said her team just lost a bit of confidence, which allowed the Nighthawks to garner the momentum.

“I think they also started to play a little bit more safe, and play a little closer to the net,” she said. “But they’re a good team. They rally around each other and I’m so proud of them.”

Saranac Lake’s libero Rori Chenaille-Schenk led her squad defensively with a game-high 40 digs, en route to being named Player of the Match for the Red Storm. Chenaille-Schenk also added eight points, three aces, one assist and one kill.

Also for Saranac Lake, Sophie Czadzeck recorded 23 assists, 15 digs, eight points and one kill. Lexie Donaldson chipped in with 13 kills, 12 digs, six points, three aces and two assists.

Natalia Gushlaw Mirville paced the Nighthawks with a double-double, recording 19 assists and 16 points. She also had seven kills and six aces. Amelia Siskavich also had a double-double with 20 digs and 11 kills.

With the loss, the Red Storm drops to 13-6 overall, and typically, when a team falls in the sectional round, its season ends; however, that’s not the case for Saranac Lake. Section VII was given an At-Large bid into the Class B state playoffs, meaning the top two in that class advance.

For the Red Storm, that means their season is still alive as they will advance to the subregional round at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Beekmantown High School. They will face the Section 2, Class B winner, which will either be Schalmont or Ichabod Crane, depending on which squad wins their respective title game today.

Coach Czadzeck said her squad is going to prepare for this match the exact same way they’ve been preparing all season.

“We’ll go back tonight and look at some of the things that you could have done better,” she said. “We’ll just keep practicing as a team and pushing forward.”

The Nighthawks, which are now 15-3 overall, advance as the at-large team in the NYSPHSAA Class B playoffs. They will play in a regional final against the Section IV champion on Nov. 15 at Candor High School.

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Individual statistics

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SL — Sophie Czadzeck 8 points, 1 kill, 23 assists, 15 digs; Mackenzie Crane 5 kills, 2 blocks; Rori Chenaille-Schenk 8 points, 3 aces, 1 kill, 1 assist, 40 digs; Lexie Donaldson 6 points, 3 aces, 13 kills, 2 assists, 12 digs; Sophia McBride 4 points, 2 aces, 3 kills, 10 digs, 1 block; Gracen Foster 11 points, 3 aces, 2 kills, 4 digs; Kasey Clark 5 kills, 3 blocks; Lily Patnode 6 points, 6 digs.

P — Alysa Darrah 6 assists, 19 digs; Olivia Gauthier 1 point; Vanessa Lawyer 17 points, 2 aces, 5 kills, 4 digs, 1 block; Avery Bresette 3 points, 1 ace, 2 kills, 14 digs; Amelia Siskavich 7 points, 1 ace, 11 kills, 20 digs; Alexis Burdo 1 point, 4 kills, 1 block; Natalia Gushlaw Mirville 16 points, 6 aces, 7 kills, 19 assists; Lily Siskavich 9 points, 3 aces, 9 kills, 13 assists, 7 digs; Hannah Packwood 1 point, 2 kills.