The visiting Bluffton volleyball team led two sets to one but eventually dropped a five-set thriller to local rival Allen East in the Northwest Conference regular season finale Tuesday evening, October 12.

The Lady Pirate record dropped to 13-8 overall with the defeat. They also finished 4-4 in the NWC (fifth place) with the difficult 25-21, 21-25, 9-25, 25-23, 15-9 loss. 

AE improved to 17-4 and ended up 5-3 in the NWC with the comeback victory that landed them in fourth place, one spot ahead of the Pirates, in the final standings.

Crestview (7-1) swept arch-rival Lincolnview (7-1) to create a three-way tie for the NWC title with Leipsic (7-1). The Knight win ended a 23-match league win streak for the Lancers, who were seeking a third straight undefeated league crown

Senior Kylie Stackhouse led Bluffton with 29 kills. Freshman Ayla Grandey knocked down 16 kills and added two blocks.

Senior setter Skyler Scoles passed out a whopping 48 assists in the maraton match. 

Senior Kylie Monday mustered 11 digs and served two aces.  

Senior Sophie Bricker and Avery Talavinia each hustled up 10 digs.

Soraya Jackson led AE with 15 kills, while Ellie Richardson added eight kills. Setter Bethany Smith doled out 34 assists for the Mustangs.

The Pirate girls won the JV match, 2-0.

Bluffton finishes its regular season at Van Buren (15-5) Thursday, Oct. 14.

AE plays at Kenton (5-13) Saturday, Oct. 16 in its season-ender.