It wasn’t an ideal start for Aberdeen Central Tuesday night, but the Golden Eagles made up for it with a strong finish.

Central overcame an early deficit to pick up a 17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 Eastern South Dakota Conference volleyball victory over Watertown at Golden Eagles Arena.

“They did a nice job just kind of getting going a little bit,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel of the way her players regrouped following the opening set. “I don’t know why we started so slow, but we finished strong, so I guess that’s what matters.”

The Eagles played with more emotion and energy after Watertown won the opening set.

“I think our energy level was really different,” said Central senior Karly Wellman. “I feel like in the first couple of sets we were really flat and there was just no energy out there. Then as we started getting good kills and good blocks, the energy just started feeding off each other.”

The fourth set was tight and there for the taking for both squads. The Eagles ended up finding a way to finish off the visitors at the finish.

“All we just emphasized was serve aggressive, and they did that,” Bindenagel said. “It was 16-16 and I’m like who’s going to have the serving run? We had a couple of kids step up and do that.”

The Eagles recorded six aces in the contest, led by Meghan Mork with three. Serving has been a point of emphasis lately in practice.

“That was our main point tonight,” Wellman said. “We just wanted to get out there and be aggressive with our serves. That’s what we really focused on this week in practice.”

Central featured a balanced offensive attack in the win. Grace Kuch had 13 kills, while Wellman, Kiana Mounga and Leah Gough each contributed eight.

Abby Berry had 37 set assists.

“It was really fun to just go out there and play,” Wellman said. “Abby and I, once in a while we just get there and that chemistry just really clicks and it’s awesome.”

The fact that Wellman was an effective weapon helps to keep defenses honest, according to Bindenagel.

“When Karly gets going then we can split up that block,” Bindenagel said, “and then we get some splits and everything just works a little better.”

Central, 12-11 on the season, is in a battle for a first-round home playoff match. The Eagles have two regular-season matches remaining. They host Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Tuesday before closing out the regular-season at week from Thursday at Sioux Falls Jefferson.

“Roosevelt and Jefferson, both great teams,” Bindenagel said. “Jefferson’s really figured some things out I would say in the past three weeks. They’re kind of rolling right now, so we’ve got our hands full.”

Serving: Aberdeen Central 6 aces (Meghan Mork 3, Madi Struble 1, Abby Berry 1, Sydney Evans 1).

Hitting: Aberdeen Central 44 kills (Grace Kuch 13, Karly Wellman 8, Kiana Mounga 8, Leah Gough 8).

Setting: Aberdeen Central 37 assists (Berry 37).

Digs: Aberdeen Central 59 (Evans 19, Ayrlie Waldo 10, Anna Malchow 7, Mork 7, Berry 7).

Blocks: Aberdeen Central 3 solos 4 assists (Mounga 2 solos 1 assist, Struble 1 solo 1 assist, Berry 1 assist, Kuch 1 assist).