Aberdeen Central battled one of the top teams in Class AA on Tuesday night, but ultimately fell to Sioux Falls Lincoln in a homecoming match at Golden Eagles Arena.

The third-rated Patriots rallied for a 21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-22 non-conference volleyball victory.

Central came out with strong energy in the opening set, built a five-point lead and set the tone early. Lincoln responded in the second set, using a big run to even the match at a set apiece.

The Patriots continued to find ways to create separation in the third and fourth sets. Central stayed within striking distance throughout both sets, but Lincoln was able to make the key plays late to close out the match.

Central coach Jackie Bindenagel said the match was defined by momentum swings and the Golden Eagles needed to find ways to recover quicker when those runs happened.

“It was a game of huge runs and volleyball typically is, but this match seemed to have some even bigger swings than usual,” Bindenagel said. “We just have to find a way to pop out of those holes a little faster.”

A major focus for Central entering the match was slowing down Lincoln’s offensive attack at the net. The Golden Eagles worked to match up with Lincoln’s tall middles and setters while trying to create block touches.

“We really focused on our middle, going up with them and matching their setter with our lefts,” Bindenagel said, “just really needed to get some block touches up there at the net.”

Central also looked to its service game to keep Lincoln from running its offense at full strength.

Bindenagel felt her team did a good job from behind the service line, finishing with eight aces on the night.

“We knew we needed to serve well, and I thought for the most part we kept them out of system,” Bindenagel said. “We did not want their setter on the net to run their offense. I thought our girls did a nice job from the service line.”

Senior setter Alivia Miller was one of Central’s biggest contributors throughout the night, making plays all over the court. Miller finished with 7 kills, 3 aces, 12 set assists, and 2 block assists.

“Alivia has just had a great season all around for us,” Bindenagel said. “She’s a great offensive weapon and she makes good decisions setting, and she serves really well. She had a really good night.”

Miller said the Golden Eagles had stretches where they played at a high level, but struggled to maintain that momentum.

“We had our highs and we had them. We were doing really good,” Miller said, “but we had our lows and they got to us, but our highs helped us out a lot.”

Senior outside hitter Lauryn Burckhard also had a strong night offensively, leading Central with 12 kills while adding 2 aces.

Burckhard said Central’s strong start showed what the team was capable of against one of the state’s top teams.

“I think we came out in the first set ready to go and then our energy came down,” Burckhard said. “We had times where we had runs, but then we got down on ourselves. Need to fix that up a bit.”

Burckhard also pointed to Lincoln’s size at the net as one of the challenges Central faced throughout the night.

“They have a big block, both setter and middle over six feet tall,” Burckhard said, “just trying to get around them, playing against them was pretty cool and good competition, knowing what I can do against other people.”

Burckhard also came through with a successful serving run when Central needed it.

“I went to the line thinking just get it over the net, and it floated a bit and worked in my favor,” Burckhard said.

Kamdyn Borge added 8 kills for the Golden Eagles, while Kalli Huff contributed a pair of ace serves.

The setback snapped a five-match winning streak for Central.

The Golden Eagles, 5-2 on the season, play host to Huron on Thursday night.

Serving: Aberdeen Central 8 aces (Alivia Miller 3, Lauryn Burckhard 2, Camryn Albrecht 1, Kendyl Fischer 1, Kalli Huff 1).

Hitting: Aberdeen Central 36 kills (Burckhard 12, Kamdyn Borge 8, Miller 7, Kylie Wirebaugh 4, Karlie Nieman 4, Fischer 1).

Setting: Aberdeen Central 36 assists (Albrecht 12, Miller 12, Kalli Huff 4).

Digs: Aberdeen Central 70 (Huff 17, Nieman 17, Miller 15, Julia Malsam 10, Albrecht 8, Wirebaugh 6).

Blocks: Aberdeen Central 1 solo 6 assists (Fischer 1 solo, Fischer 2 assists, Miller 2 assists Nieman 2 assists.

Records: Sioux Falls Lincoln 7-2; Aberdeen Central 5-2.