Few sports, if any, have momentum swings that occur as often between evenly-matched teams as volleyball.

Tuesday night’s Schuylkill League battle between Jim Thorpe and Blue Mountain was a classic example.

In a match that featured 30 ties and 16 lead changes, it was the Eagles who eventually prevailed as they pulled out a 25-18, 20-25, 27-25, 27-25 victory.

Jim Thorpe coach Chris Fallabel gave credit to Blue Mountain for its ability to score points when the game was on the line.

“They were able to capitalize on our mistakes, especially at the end when the games were close. I thought we were sluggish tonight, not enough energy against a good team. We were back on our heels, and made too many errors.”

The Eagles (11-5), led by power shots and multiple kills from Rosa Gergely and Jaedyn Bartholomew, took a 6-4 lead in the first game that increased to 11-5 under the service of Mikayla Schaeffer. Thorpe was unable to cut the margin below four points with the Eagles winning the first game.

In the second game, Jim Thorpe junior, Brooke Mitzen led the charge with rocket kills, and libero Olivia Calcano kept several balls alive with outstanding digs. After Blue Mountain led 8-6, Thorpe scored four straight points, but the Eagles battled back with strong play at the net to take a 16-13 lead.

Trailing 19-16 and in danger of falling two games behind in the match, Olympian sophomore Maura Malaska rallied her team. A 9-1 finish - spearheaded by Malaska’s serving - allowed Thorpe to pull even in the match.

The third game was a swing of back-and-forth scores until the very end. Behind the play of freshman Jaelynn Browdy, the Olympians eventually turned a 20-17 deficit into a 24-22 lead. But needing just one point for the victory, Thorpe failed to close out the Eagles and when Bethany Stein aced her serve, the Eagles were in front, 25-24.

Thorpe tied the game with the next point, but Blue Mountain put up the final two points with an ace by Bartholomew serving as the game clincher.

In the fourth game, Thorpe found a rhythm in its set ups, taking a 15-12 lead and threatening to push the match to a fifth and deciding game.

The Eagles stormed back for a 23-20 lead, but following a couple of key timeouts, the Olympians roared back for a 25-24 lead. Once again, Thorpe couldn’t close out the game, however, as a three-point Blue Mountain run ended the match.

In spite of the disappointment, Fallabel saw a silver lining in the loss.

“We need to play this level of competition to get ourselves ready for the postseason,” he said. “Blue Mountain is a good team. We’ll take the loss and learn from it.”

REVENGE ACCOMPLISHED … Blue Mountain avenged a loss, a sweep at the hands of Jim Thorpe earlier in the season.

RECORD BREAKER … The second game was stopped when Jim Thorpe senior Maggie Hallihan broke the school record with her 1,310th-career assist.