Aberdeen Christian’s bid to upend a receiving-votes Hitchcock-Tulare squad ran out of steam Tuesday night, as the Patriots squeezed past the Knights 3-1 at the ACS Gym. Hitchcock-Tulare claimed the non-conference victory by set scores of 27-25, 22-25, 27-25 and 25-17.

“I love the grit,” said Christian coach Sally Stoebner of her team’s ability to go toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in Class B. “I was just talking to (the team) after the game, when we’re up, we are so good. But we can’t let other teams come back in and regain control. We have to keep control of the game and we have to finish.”

Control was precisely what the Knights let slip away late in the match. Up 22-16 in the third set, the Knights gave up a 7-1 run to the Patriots, who eventually rallied for the set win, then rode that momentum to a big fourth-set margin of victory.

”At the beginning, we were not in system,” said Hitchcock-Tulare coach Jordan Opp. “We had a lot of bad passes, a lot of out-of-system passes and we weren’t getting a lot of offense run. And Aberdeen Christian was passing the ball extremely well. … In set four, we were getting them out of system. They were giving us a lot of free balls and we got to run our offense.”

Patriot senior Rebecca Huizenga had four kills in the closing stretch of the third set and went on to finish with 19 in the match.

“I think we settled in a little bit and found the open spots and relaxed and played our game,” Huizenga said.

Those open spots, however, were few and far between in the first three sets of the night. Jolie Forgarty and Alexis Isakson patrolled the back line, while Sophia Eichler and Ari Johnson controlled the play at the net.

“Our defense showed up and showed out,” Stoebner said. “We were really good from the service line. We didn’t miss a lot of serves, so we didn’t give a lot of points away. We were putting it in play and putting up a good block and playing defense behind it. That allowed us to get going offensively.”

Despite coming away with the victory, the close battle means the road forward won’t get any easier for either Region 1B squad.

“I thought Aberdeen Christian played a heck of a ballgame,” Opp said. “They’re a well-improved team and they’re getting better. I said to my assistant, this is not a team I want to run up against in the regional because they are a well-improved, good-passing team.”

Hitchcock-Tulare senior setter Gracyn Bixler finished with 36 assists, including her 1,000th career assist, that coming in the fourth and final set.

“It feels good,” Bixler said of reaching the milestone. “I worked really hard for it. Just have to thank my hitters.”

“It’s a huge milestone,” Opp said. “Anytime an athlete hits a thousand of anything, whether it’s a kill or an assist, it’s time to celebrate that. It’s hard to get that 1,000th assist. She’s been playing since she was a freshman. … Kudos to her.”

Hitchcock-Tulare (10-2) will head to Highmore-Harrold Thursday, while Christian (3-3) is at Wolsey-Wessington, also on Thursday.

Serving: Hitchcock-Tulare 93-101 7 aces (Gracyn Bixler 21-21 2 aces, Cambree Hoekman 21-22 1 ace).

Hitting: Hitchcock-Tulare 126-148 45 kills (Rebecca Huizenga 28-33 19 kills, Cora Hofer 34-37 10 kills); Aberdeen Christian 46 kills (Ari Johnson 24, Jolie Fogarty 10, Sophia Eichler 9).

Setting: Hitchcock-Tulare 146-146 44 assists (Bixler 119-119 36 assists); Aberdeen Christian (Sawyer Schwan 30).

Digs: Hitchcock-Tulare 66 (Hoekman 20, Olivia Knox 18); Aberdeen Christian 62 (Fogarty 18, Alexis Iskason 16, Eichler 13, Schwan 10).

Blocks: Hitchcock-Tulare 2 solo 6 assists (Hofer 2 solo 2 assists); Aberdeen Christian 2 solo 13 assists (Johnson 1 solo 4 assists, Fogarty 1 solo 1 assist, Schwan 3 assists, Eichler 3 assists).

Records: Hitchcock-Tulare 10-2; Aberdeen Christian 3-3.