Wednesday was a pretty good night out for the Tamaqua volleyball team.

The Raiders swept past Palmerton 25-23, 25-19 and 27-25 for a non-league victory.

To be sure, there were rocky moments for a fast-improving bunch of Lady Raiders, who now sport a 3-2 overall record after stepping out of Schuylkill League play to handle the Colonial League Blue Bombers.

Sometimes the Raiders were getting in their own way, needing some late surges from the Black girls — senior outside hitter Leah and her younger sister, sophomore Millie. It also helped that Madison Schock piled on 20 assists to fuel Leah Black’s 11 kills, seven aces and 13 digs. Millie chipped in with her uncanny ability to find footing at the net, recording eight kills of her own.

To say it was a Tamaqua “Black Out” is the best way to pitch it.

“Sometimes we get in our way,” said Leah Black, the effervescent senior with a killer smile. Black carved out a milestone in the process with her 150th career kill. She was dynamite in the late goings of all three sets. Leah came up huge in the third and final frame with three kills, and if she wasn’t pounding the ball past the stumbling Blue Bombers, she was doing her darndest to set the table with some nifty saves.

“She does some pretty big things for us,” said first-year mentor Marie Schock. Schock stressed how much the Raiders “play together and fight hard.” That’s all one can ask for — and it showed in the win.

Junior middle hitter Isidora Neifert also reached a milestone, picking up her 50th career kill.

“I like to think it was a closer game than we would like,” Neifert admitted. “It was nice to get the win. We did it as a team, we found the right spots and were able to get the ball to drop in.”

Tamaqua cracked open leads of 11-8 and 17-15 in the first set, only to lose its footing when Palmerton roared back with five unanswered points. The Bombers used the nifty serving of Morgan Wayda, who ripped off three aces in the rally, to jump in front 20-17.

That never fazed Tamaqua, which answered with kills by both Neifert and Leah Black to right the ship and claim the opener.

“We haven’t been able to get into the gym and practice much because we’ve been playing a lot,” Palmerton’s Savannah Mickel explained. “We just couldn’t take advantage of the ebb and flow of the game. It was one of those games … we’ve got to get back to practice.”

The Blue Raiders settled the second set with ease. Leading 18-16, they pushed ahead 24-18 before the curtain fell on Palmerton. Leah Black continued to pound the ball strong, recording a pair of late aces.

Life was still kicking in the Palmerton corner to start the third. The Bombers surged to leads of 11-6 and 19-16, and they hung around to earn serve with the set tied at 25-25. But Leah Black surfaced again, and when a ball deflected off a Palmerton block sailed out of bounds, Tamaqua grabbed a 26-25 lead. A return error ended the match.

RALLYING … Tamaqua had a big shift in momentum late in the clinching set. It tied things at 20-20, with more ties at 23, 24, 25 and 26. Leah Black kept her poise, as did Neifert. Madison Schock had her moments, while Kendle Miller also stepped up at outside hitter.

BAD BREAKS … Palmerton had chances to steal the opening set but just couldn’t convert. Plaudits go to Delaney Keiser, Kylie Mattrazzo, Liz Keiper and Mikayla Maxwell for their efforts.

Tamaqua 3, Palmerton 0

Palmerton 23 19 25

Tamaqua 25 25 27

Records: Tamaqua (3-2); Palmerton (1-4)