Sequoyah bounced back from a slow start, winning the final three games after losing the opener to beat Creekview (20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19) in a best-of-five battle of state-ranked county rivals Thursday at the War Lodge.

Sequoyah (20-9), ranked sixth in Class AAAA, had trouble finding its bearings in the first game, but got back in sync the rest of the way to notch the win over Creekview, the sixth-ranked team in Class AAA and a state semifinalist last year.

"The girls were a little bit not true to themselves," Sequoyah coach Kelly Audia said. "They were trying to figure themselves out early on and just didn't communicate well at all with each other. In the second game, they began to figure things out and started to play better volleyball. We played a good volleyball team."

The sophomore trio of Courtney O'Brien, Carley Roberts and Brittnee Jones led the way for Sequoyah. O'Brien had 22 assists and 14 digs, while Roberts had 16 kills and 5.5 blocks and Jones had 13 kills and 4.5 blocks.

The Lady Chiefs were also led by Haleigh Tewksbury with 11 kills and Morgan Downie with 11 assists and four digs.

Tewksbury had three kills and Jones had one kill to give Sequoyah a 4-0 lead in the first game, but three unforced errors by the Lady Chiefs and a service winner by Cayla Degen helped Creekview tie the game 4-4.

Sequoyah held a 20-19 advantage after the lead changed hands several times, but Creekview rallied with six unanswered points to clinch the opening game.

A couple of winners from Degen and Peyton Airington helped move the momentum in Creekview's favor at the end of Game 1.

Creekview maintained the momentum from the end of the first game in Game 2, scoring the first five points on a couple of aces and a service winner from Savannah Turner, not to mention a couple of Sequoyah unforced errors.

Creekview held on to its advantage through the early part of the second game and led, 17-12, when a couple of kills by Jones and a kill by Tewksbury propelled a 5-0 Sequoyah run that tied the game at 17-all.

The Lady Grizzlies managed to hold on to a slender advantage and were up, 20-19, when Sequoyah used three kills by Roberts to ignite a 6-0 run, clinching Game 2 and tying the match one game apiece.

Creekview held a close lead early in Game 3, but Sequoyah took the lead for the first time when it went ahead, 15-14. The Lady Chiefs stayed in front the rest of the way to take the match lead.

The fourth game was more or less a repeat of the third, with Creekview taking a narrow advantage early on, only to see Sequoyah move in front, 10-9, taking the lead for good and wrapping up the match.