MINERSVILLE — Like a swimmer entering chilly waters, Jim Thorpe’s volleyball team tiptoed into the Schuylkill League’s playoff pond in Minersville on Monday.

Once acclimated to the situation, though, the Olympians put on an exhilarating performance. Thorpe swept Halifax in the league’s quarterfinals, winning 25-21, 25-16, 25-9.

Olympian coach Victoria Nichols called the tepid start a case of nerves. After all, this is Thorpe’s first-ever appearance in the Schuylkill League playoffs.

Regardless, it was a dreadful start for the team, as they fell behind by nine points at the start of the opening set.

A strong showing at the net carried the team to dominance from that point on, however.

In the second set, it was the Olympians that started out like a rodeo bronco, leaping out to a 9-1 lead. In set three, Thorpe outscored the Wildcats at the end of the game, 13-1.

“The fact that we got mowed down in the first set, I think it was mainly nerves,” said Nichols. ”But the girls came back right away.”

Much of the credit goes to Brandy Montemuro, a sophomore who had 12 digs, 12 assists and 14 kills for the Olympians. Senior Kelsey Carroll also carried her share of the load, gaining seven aces, six digs, 16 assists and seven kills.

In that explosive third set, Carroll had the final nine service points, which included two aces. Montemuro had three kills in a row during that stretch.

Nichols said the team worked hard to prepare for their Schuylkill tournament debut.

“The other night at practice, we put emphasis on making sure that we have control of the game,” she said.

That wasn’t the case in the first few minutes of the game, as Halifax had its way with the Olympians. The Wildcats scored the first six points of the contest, and the Olympians didn’t trip their side of the board until after Nichols called a timeout.

Halifax didn’t let up, taking leads of 11-2 and then 13-4, before Jim Thorpe fought back with a 14-1 run. Suddenly, Montemuro and Autumn Snyder took charge of the net, using their height and strength to keep the Wildcats off balance.

Besides showing great teamwork and strength, Nichols attributed another reason for the Olympians’ success to “their ability to read the other team.”

For Halifax, senior Mamiya Endman had five aces and eight kills, while Emma Maulfair had seven kills and eight assists.

Nichols said that it wasn’t just the outside hitters and servers who came through. “My middles, I can’t thank them enough,” she said.

RETURN APPEARANCE ... The Olympians return to Minersville Wednesday for a 5:30 contest against Pottsville. Nichols said she is looking forward to the Wednesday meeting. “Whoever wins tonight, I’m excited to see how we’re going to match up. I definitely think we can win if we keep up with our serves, our tight defense, speed, communications and control of the ball.

NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT ... The Olympians were able to enter the tournament because of a change in the Schuylkill League playoff format. In other years, only the first-place team in each of the four divisions competed in the playoffs. This year, the first two teams of each division entered the playoffs. Jim Thorpe was the second seed in Division 2 while Halifax was the first place team in Division 3.

RECORDS ... The win puts JT’s record at 14-4 for the year, while Halifax is now 11-4. The league championship game is Thursday night.