POTTSVILLE — The way Panther Valley’s volleyball team plowed through undefeated Tri-Valley Thursday in three sets, General Custer stood a better chance of survival at the Little Bighorn than the Bulldogs had at knocking off the Panthers.

It was definitely a night to remember for PV, as it stunned onlookers from both sides with its dominating performance on the floor of Martz Hall in the Schuylkill League championship match.

Panther Valley rolled to wins in the first two sets — 25-5 and 25-13 — before pulling off a late rally in the clinching third set — 28-26 — to capture another league title.

To listen to Panther head coach Nancy Filer tell it, this team wasn’t going back to the coal hills of Panther Valley without the gold medal.

“On the bus ride up here, I told the girls we want the gold,” Filer bellowed. “No silver, no silver, gold only!”

And gold indeed it came to be.

There were plenty of standout players contributing to the winning effort, from the incredible serving of freshman Kathryn Breslin, to the leadership of her sister and feisty libero Caroline Breslin. JaeLynn Browdy was a “kill”joy to Tri-Valley, while Morgan Orsulak starred once again for the Panthers. There were also the unsung efforts from Madeline Schirer, Jessica Hackash and Chloe Hadley.

But no matter what all of them contributed, it boiled down to one very important word: Teamwork.

PV blended so well and found ways — some obvious and some not so obvious — to achieve victory.

“We play for each other, we root for each other and we want to win as a team,” said Browdy after a huge night of 15 kills and 15 assists, along with plenty of forceful returns.

Orsulak leapt into the arms of her father, as she showed emotion of delight.

“Our motto going into this game was like the last game, have a fun energetic game,” Orsulak said.

Kathryn Breslin was in the spotlight during an awesome run of points in the first set. When the freshman took the ball in her hand to start her serve, the game was still in doubt at 8-4. But that eventually turned into a whirlwind of excitement for her and her teammates.

“I just kept serving, I wasn’t worried, just serve,” Breslin said, who finished with 19 service points. “I just wanted to put it over (the net) and in (play).”

And serve she did.

There was point one, and then four straight errors by the Bulldogs. After that, aces were raining down, and the next thing you knew the scoreboard read 18-4. By the time she was done cranking out service points, her team led 21-4.

“I just wanted for her to keep it going … I kept saying keep serving, just keep it up,” said Kathryn’s sister Caroline, who finished with 23 digs.

By the time the set had finally reached 25, the Panthers had allowed only five points to the ‘Dawgs. That was a tell-tale sign of what was about to occur. Panther Valley was looking to sweep in three sets — against an excellent team.

“We don’t take anything for granted,” Filer said afterward.

In other words, a sweep was the ultimate for Panther Valley.

And it did come to pass.

The Panthers blazed to a 19-9 lead in the second set, before finishing things off with a 25-13 triumph.

Their business wasn’t finished, though, and Tri-Valley wasn’t about to go away quietly.

Much to their credit, the Bulldogs dug in with heart. They broke free to erase an 11-4 deficit to tie the score in the third set, and eventually went ahead by a 24-23 score.

But in a flash, Panther Valley rebounded to take three of the next four points to pull within one of the title.

Tri-Valley senior Liv Lupole tied the game with a kill (26-26) to keep the match alive, but then Orsulak rose to the occasion. First, she drilled a slam for a kill point that was untouchable, and then added the coup de grace with her serving ace.

“We’re a very calm team, we stay cool,” said Hackash, an underrated middle blocker for the Panthers, who kept coming up with ways to keep the ball in play throughout the contest. “We expected them to come back, but we just wanted it more.”

SHE WAS THERE TOO … Kudos to junior blocker Schirer, who had some standout play, especially in the wild finish. Schrier kept finding ways to dig in at the net and thwart Tri-Valley’s attempts to hammer home a kill.

WHOSE ON DECK? … Panther Valley got a fortuitous break when undefeated Bethlehem Catholic lost to Emmaus, who pulled off a reverse three after dropping the first two sets. That loss will most likely give PV a second seed in the district tournament.

Panther Valley 3, Tri-Valley 0

Tri-Valley 5 13 26

Panther Valley 25 25 28

Stat Leaders: Tri-Valley - Liv Lupole 13 kills; Faith Melocheck 9 kills, 12 digs; Kirra Klinger 25 digs; Kenzie Tobin 14 assists, 7 digs; Panther Valley - Morgan Orsulak 16 kills, 16 assists, 14 service points, 6 aces, 3 digs; JaeLynn Browdy 15 kills, 15 assists; Caroline Breslin 23 digs; Jessica Hackash 8 kills, 3 digs; Madeline Schirer 10 service points, 5 digs; Kathryn Breslin 19 service points, 6 aces.

Records: Tri-Valley (19-1); Panther Valley (18-2).