NORTHAMPTON — Northwestern Lehigh spent two sets building toward a return trip to the Colonial League volleyball final.

Notre Dame Green Pond spent the next three taking it away.

The third-seeded Crusaders erased a two-set deficit Tuesday night, rallying past the second-seeded Tigers 13-25, 17-25, 25-19, 27-25, 15-5 in a dramatic five-set semifinal.

For Northwestern, which had defeated Notre Dame twice during the regular season, the loss ended its hopes of reaching the league final for the second straight year.

“I know they’re fighters,” Notre Dame coach Michael Zile said. “Our backs were way up against the wall. So I’m really proud of them and the way they fought to overcome that. That just tells me they’ve got a lot of belief in each other, in what we’re trying to do here.”

The Tigers appeared headed for another victory after dominating the opening set, building a 21-7 lead before closing out a 25-13 win.

The second set was more competitive, with the teams tied at 14 before Northwestern used a 3-0 run to take control. Notre Dame pulled within 17-15, but the Tigers maintained their advantage to secure a 25-17 victory.

But the momentum shifted in the third, and Northwestern struggled to regain the aggressive approach that helped it build the early advantage.

“We came out really good in the first two sets,” Northwestern coach Mike Maston said. “We played rough the last couple sets. We played not to lose the game, and we weren’t aggressive enough.”

Zile made adjustments throughout the match, using defensive specialists in the second set before returning to his original group in the third. The Crusaders also shifted players in their serve-receive rotations to give their hitters different looks.

Notre Dame never trailed in the third set and appeared to be cruising after opening a 20-9 lead. But Northwestern mounted a furious rally, cutting the deficit to 22-17 and forcing a timeout.

The Crusaders responded with two straight points, including an ace from Rachel Fisher, before closing out a 25-19 victory.

“I thought with the way we came back that we’d be OK,” Maston said. “Now our energy’s high. But then we fell flat again.”

That set the stage for a fourth set filled with momentum swings.

Notre Dame jumped ahead 4-1 before Northwestern battled back to tie it at 7. Another Fisher ace helped spark a Crusaders run that pushed their advantage to 13-8, only for the Tigers to answer with five straight points to pull even.

Notre Dame responded with another five-point surge and eventually stretched its lead to 23-18.

Once again, Northwestern refused to go away.

The Tigers reeled off five consecutive points to tie the set at 23, putting themselves within striking distance of a trip to the championship match.

Notre Dame reached set point at 24-23 and 25-24, but Northwestern answered both times.

The Crusaders finally delivered the decisive blows, getting a kill from sophomore Casey Lagodney and an ace on the final two points to secure a 27-25 victory and force a fifth set.

“No lead’s too safe against a team like that,” Zile said.

The deciding set was tied at 2 before a kill from Addyson Wilson ignited an eight-point Notre Dame run that gave the Crusaders a commanding 10-2 advantage.

Northwestern briefly cut the deficit to 10-4, but Notre Dame closed the match with a 5-1 surge. Lagodney delivered three kills during the Crusaders’ final four points, including the match-winner.

Lagodney finished with a match-high 16 kills and 10 digs, while Wilson added 10 kills. Fisher contributed six aces, five kills and 21 digs, and Ella Farrow recorded 33 assists and 14 digs. Alexa Beani added five blocks.

Northwestern received a strong performance from senior Anna Ebeling, who finished with 12 kills and five blocks while posting a .458 hitting percentage.

Jessie Unrath added seven kills, while Kayla Schaffer recorded 23 assists and 18 digs. Senior Alexa George collected 29 digs.

Maston pointed to serve receive as one of the Tigers’ biggest struggles and credited Notre Dame for taking advantage of its opportunities.

“They just knew how to pick us apart,” Maston said. “They’re finding the open spots. We were diving, going for everything.”

MOVING ON ... The victory sends Notre Dame into Thursday’s Colonial League final against top-seeded Southern Lehigh at 6 p.m. at Catasauqua.

The unbeaten Spartans have won all but one of their matches in straight sets this season. The lone exception came Sept. 8, when the Crusaders pushed Southern Lehigh to five sets before falling. The Spartans won the Sept. 30 rematch 3-0.

LOOKING AHEAD ... For Northwestern, the loss prevented a return trip to the league championship after reaching the final a year ago. But the Tigers still have an opportunity to extend their postseason in the District 11 tournament, where Maston expects his team to host an opening-round match Tuesday.

“Even when you lose, you don’t lose, you learn,” Maston said. “So we’ve got to take out what we did tonight and what we have to correct … and figure out what we need to do to make it better for us.”

Notre Dame GP 3, Northwestern 2

Notre Dame GP 13 17 25 27 15

Northwestern 25 25 19 25 5

Statistics: Notre Dame GP - Casey Lagodney 16 kills, 10 digs, 1 block; Addyson Wilson 10 kills, 1 block; Rachel Fisher 5 kills, 6 aces, 21 digs; Ella Farrow 3 kills, 33 assists, 14 digs; Alexa Beani 4 kills, 5 blocks; Natalie Lilly 20 digs, 2 aces; Clara Reis 18 digs; Emma Fisher 9 digs, 1 ace. Northwestern - Anna Ebeling 12 kills, 5 blocks; Jessie Unrath 7 kills, 1 block; Marina Breininger 6 kills; Lacey Clymer 5 kills, 17 digs, 1 ace; Kayla Schaffer 4 kills, 23 assists, 18 digs; Alexa George 4 assists, 4 aces, 29 digs; Hailey Rex 4 aces, 16 digs; Anna Seyler 4 aces; Jaelyn McAdams 8 assists, 6 digs.

Records: Northwestern (17-6); Notre Dame GP (15-4)