Aberdeen Central struggled early, but eventually found its rhythm, taking a straight-sets non-conference volleyball victory over Spearfish Friday night, winning by set scores of 27-25, 25-19 and 25-20 at Golden Eagles Arena.

While the Golden Eagles improved to 5-1 on the season with that win, it was not the crisp, efficient victory the squad has enjoyed in matches past.

“We just couldn’t get going,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel.

Bindenagel also noted the visiting Spartans are a much-improved team over past iterations despite the squad’s current 3-10 mark.

“Spearfish is not bad,” Bindenagel said.

While the win doesn’t carry style points with it, perhaps the greatest victory of the night for the Golden Eagles was the battle they waged when their backs were touching the wall early in the night.

Central trailed 20-18 late in the first set, but managed to fend off the Spartans with a furious late-set rally to win 27-25.

“They battled through that set when things weren’t going our way,” Bindenagel said. “They stuck with it and showed a little grit.”

After that rally, Central settled in a bit and eventually found a cadence to its offense that allowed the Golden Eagles to work around an off night at the service line and at the block.

“Our ace-to-error ratio has been really good all season,” Bindenagel said. “That wasn’t the case (Friday).”

The Golden Eagles recorded just one ace as a team and had just five blocks at the net, as well.

Still, there were some bright spots in the lineup, including a break-out performance by freshman Lauryn Burckhard, who finished with 16 kills on just 23 swings and only three errors.

“She was lights out,” Bindenagel said.

Grace Kuch notched 17 kills for the Golden Eagles, and also finished with 13 digs and the team’s lone service ace.

Ayrlie Waldo added 26 assists, while Emma Dohrer had 11 assists and eight digs. Madison Miller tallied a team-high 15 digs, and Taryn Nieman had three of the team’s five blocks.

Adelyn Bouman led the Spartans with nine kills. Maria Bouman notched another seven kills, while Kali Reiners finished with 15 assists and a dozen digs.

Central will take on Sturgis at 1:30 this afternon at Golden Eagles Arena.

Serving: Spearfish 2 aces (Adelyn Bouman 1, Maria Bouman 1); Aberdeen Central 70-76 1 ace (Grace Kuch 12-13 1 ace).

Hitting: Spearfish 73-88 19 kills (A. Bouman 16-20 9 kills, M. Bouman 17-22 7 kills); Aberdeen Central 78-95 41 kills (Lauryn Burckhard 20-23 16 kills, Kuch 29-35 17 kills).

Setting: Spearfish 16 (Reiners 15); Aberdeen Central 89-92 38 assists (Ayrlie Waldo 62-65 26 assists, Emma Dohrer 21-21 11 assists).

Digs: Spearfish 44 (Kali Reiners 12, A. Bouman 9); Aberdeen Central 50 (Madison Miller 15 , Kuch 13).

Blocks: Spearfish 5 solo 4 assists (M. Bouman 4 solo 2 assists); Aberdeen Central 5 solo (Taryn Nieman 3).