POTTSVILLE – The clock struck midnight on the tenacious and aggressive Panther Valley volleyball team on Tuesday evening at Martz Hall.

The bewitching hour for the Panthers’ outstanding season came on of all nights, Halloween.

Aspiring to carve out another District 11 Class 2A championship, Panther Valley’s dreams imploded at the wrong time against powerful Notre Dame of Green Pond.

Bolstered by a late third-set comeback, the Crusaders captured the district title with a 25-16, 17-25, 26-24, 25-17 victory.

Panther Valley - which entered the match having lost just once the entire season and riding the momentum of a recent Schuylkill League championship - appeared to be in grand position to get the win and earn the return trip to the PIAA State Tournament that came with it.

After the teams had split the first two sets, the Panthers were leading the pivotal third set, 20-14 - needing just five more points to take control of the match.

Instead, things crumbled as the Crusaders furiously came from behind to pull out a stunning 26-24 win.

“We were playing not to lose, instead of playing to win,” said Panther Valley coach Emilee Baker about the late third-set difficulties her team endured.

“We had a chance to take control in the third set and let them back into it.

“I feel like we didn’t play our A-game tonight, and we needed that against a team like Notre Dame.”

That third set was the bummer.

While the Panthers struggled to close out that set, Notre Dame kept pushing, kept its poise and eventually pulled it out.

“The girls just decided that this is what they wanted. They had to dig deep, they had to fight and play it point-by-point,” said Notre Dame coach Sarah Wukitch.

The narrow third-set victory for Notre Dame was the difference in a match where the Crusaders showed their power with comfortable victories in the first and fourth sets.

Most of that was due to the play of Carly Campbell - the middle hitter bound for Franklin and Marshall next fall.

Campbell also got help from southpaw Alyssa Eilenberger, as the duo combined for a healthy 28 kills in the match - including 20 by Campbell, who managed to make circus like digs, saves and blocks the entire match.

Campbell showed she would be a force early in the match as she helped the Crusaders jump out to first-set leads of 14-9 and 21-14 before finishing off the victory.

Panther Valley seemed to regain its balance in set two.

Superb senior leader and outside hitter Riley McArdle was blasting away as the Panthers fought back to tie the match as 1-1. When it wasn’t McArdle, sophomore Morgan Orsulak was stepping up. Ditto for Emmy Dacey and Natalie Vermillion. Caroline Breslin was out-front, too. Same for Lucy Greco and Maddison Maynard.

The Panthers (20-2) looked like the team that won the Schuylkill League championship a week earlier as they blew the doors off the Crusaders, sprinting to a 19-6 lead and never looking back.

It looked rosy in the third set as well for the Panthers. They pulled in front 12-5 early, and never seemed in any kind of trouble even as Notre Dame closed the gap slightly to 17-12. When the PV lead reached 20-14, it looked like doomsday for Notre Dame.

But the Colonial League runner-up found its balance.

Notre Dame pecked away and rode the wave of momentum provided by Campbell and Eilenberger, reeling off seven straight points to take a 22-21 advantage.

PV answered to force ties at 23-23 and 24-24, before the eventual game winners turned to Campbell to finish off the set.

“She is one of our go-to-players on and off the court,” Wukitch said of Campbell. “She just brings the whole team together.”

That was also evident throughout the fourth and clinching set.

If it wasn’t Campbell piling up points for Notre Dame or denying them for Panther Valley, it was Eilenberger coming up with huge slams and flushes.

But the Panthers kept battling, and were within two points late (19-17). The Crusaders weren’t to be denied, however, and capped it off with six straight points.

The clock had finally struck midnight for the Panthers.

This time there was no late surge.

“We had several matches this season when we were down late and it didn’t faze us. We found a way to battle back and win,” Baker said. “But tonight we weren’t able to do that.”

NUMBERING COUNTING … McArdle took center stage with 15 kills, 24 digs, and two aces. Orsulak (28 digs, four kills, two aces) and Vermillion (nine kills, 21 digs) also played well.

TRIFECTA … The Crusaders faced three Schuylkill League teams this season, winning all three. They beat Marian earlier this season 3-0 and Jim Thorpe in the semifinal round of the districts, 3-0.

FINAL MATCH … Panthers bid adieu to five seniors. Courtney Rickert, Kylah Pinckney, Greco, Maynard and McArdle.