The Aberdeen Central volleyball team found its sense of urgency midway through the third set, but could not parlay it into a comeback as the Golden Eagles dropped a 3-1 decision to Sioux Falls Lincoln Thursday evening at Golden Eagles Arena.

The visiting Patriots won by set scores of 25-19, 25-15, 19-25 and 26-24.

“I feel like in the middle of set three, their mindset shifted to ‘We can win,’” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel. 

Central looked flat-footed through the opening two sets, giving up long runs to the Patriots in each stanza.

The Golden Eagles came to life in the third, however, turning a 9-7 deficit into a 17-11 lead and pressing in for the victory.

“When we were in system, I thought we looked pretty good tonight,” Bindenagel said. “We’re still getting familiar with some people in different positions.”

That run seemingly breathed new life into the Arena, and despite falling behind in the fourth, the Golden Eagles would not go quietly. Despite facing a 21-17 deficit, Central rallied late fueled by three Lauryn Burckhard kills in a 4-1 run that tied the set at 24-all.

Central went with big swings on the next two points, just missing on each as Lincoln escaped with the win.

Senior Grace Kuch finished with 14 kills on 28 swings, largely in the final two sets of the night. Burckhard, an eighth grader, tallied 10 kills, while Leah Gough had nine.

“We knew we (were facing) a big block at the net, so we kept talking to the hitters about shots that were open,” Bindenagel said. “Some of those kids have never been in these matches before and maybe don’t have the confidence to take those chances. … Working around that block is something we still need to work on.”

Senior libero Sydney Evans notched 29 digs, recording her 1,000th career dig in the process.

Central heads to Sioux Falls Washington on Saturday to face the fourth-ranked Warriors.

Serving: Aberdeen Central 57-64 7 aces (Sydney Evans 11-12 2 aces, Grace Kuch 10-11 2 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Central 121-138 43 kills (Kuch 25-28 14 kills, Lauryn Burckhard 34-38 10 kills, Leah Gough 26-28 9 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Central 95-95 39 assists (Arylie Waldo 93-93 39 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Central 65 (Evans 29, Anna Malchow 9, Sawyer Bahr 9).

Blocks: Aberdeen Central 2 solo 4 assists (Kuch 1 solo 1 assist).