The Lyle-Pacelli volleyball team gave Mabel-Canton a much better match when the teams first met Oct. 1, but it wasn’t enough as the Athletics dropped the SEC title match in four games in Pacelli Gym Tuesday.

After being swept and scoring just a total of 32 points in their first meeting with MC (31-2 overall), the Athletics were competitive in a 25-12, 22-25, 25-14, 25-15 loss.

LP (14-11 overall) is just the third team to win a match game against the Cougars this season.

“We played way better this time,” said LP junior Madison Truckenmiller, who had six kills. “We had three solid practices to prepare for them. When we played against them the first time, we didn’t know what to expect from them.”

LP started strong in the first game as it trailed just 12-10 to start the game before MC took over. LP played point-for-point with MC in the second game and it was tied at 21-21 when Sarah Holtz, who finished with 15 kills, spiked down a couple of key points down the stretch to give her team the win.

“To take a game was a huge boost for our confidence,” LP head coach Lindsay Leif said. “They’re continuing to progress throughout the season and our communication is getting better.”

LP fell behind 16-5 in game three, but it closed to within 18-10 on an ace serve by Courtney Walter. The third game was 19-14 when MC rallied to put it away.

Leif said her team was able to get its offense going on Tuesday by controlling the aggressive serving of the Cougars.

“We were much better on serve receive,” she said. “Once we get the ball in play, we can really play with them. We did a good job of playing defense and transitioning into offense.”

LP stats: Madison Truckenmiller, 6 kills, 11 digs, 2 ace serves; Courtney Walter, 12 set assists, 12 digs; Sarah Holtz, 15 kills, 12 digs; Bethany Strouf, 34 serve receives, 5 kills; Brooke Walter, 6 set assists; Zoe Lester, 17-for-17 serving, 3 ace serves