But after going into a two-set hole, Class D-2 champion Panama was able to dig deeper than it has all season long to come back for a 21-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 victory to improve to 22-1 on the year.

As far as difficult tests go, the Panthers aced an awfully hard one at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex and will now meet the winner of Thursday’s Section V matchup between Cuba-Rushford and Bishop Kearney. The Panthers will meet the victor Saturday at 1 p.m. at LeRoy High School.

“I’ve been in this situation before where Panama has won two sets and then we’ve gone back and lost three,” Panama coach Tammy Hosier said. “I said ‘we can do this, we have to believe,’ and they fortunately came back and performed. They have to believe that they can win and they have to trust in their teammates. They have to stay positive.”

Keeping that positive mindset was a tough task for any team considering the way that the Thunderbirds (14-5) were hitting the ball through the early going.

From the very first point of the night, Chautauqua Lake’s defense was able to turn away a hard-hit ball from Madalyn Bowen, before Olivia Anderson finished off the point with an overhand from the back line.

The writing was on the wall — Panama would have its hands full.

Anderson grabbed two more points following a spike off the hands of blockers and another on a short push to give Chautauqua Lake a lead at 11-8. The Thunderbirds carried that lead all the way to the finish line in the opening frame, with Sophia Woodis picking up back-to-back points at the net to maintain the margin. Down the stretch, Abbie Henry picked up a pair of near-impossible digs to fend off a Panama comeback, ultimately finishing off the opener with a kill down the line.

“We weren’t making mistakes and we were just aggressive at the net,” Chautauqua Lake coach Joanne Meadows said. “I think they played close to two flawless sets. I’m really impressed with the way they looked and they didn’t quit.”

Henry continued her stellar defensive play in the opening rounds of the second, kicking back a hard-hit ball that pulled the Thunderbirds out of an early three-point hole. That was followed up with a clever reverse dig from Anderson that was finished off by Lily Woodis to pull things back to even at 9-9.

Panama’s Kylie Schnars attempts a spike while Chautauqua Lake’s Olivia Anderson goes up for a block and the Panthers’ Maci Johnson looks on during Tuesday night’s Section VI Class D Crossover match at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex.

Both teams jockeyed back-and-forth for the lead with Panama adding an overhand winner from Natalie Angeletti and a kill by Kylie Schnars to keep pace with the Thunderbirds.

The stalemates continued at 24-24 and 25-25 until Chautauqua Lake finally picked up an opening after a Panthers’ hitting error. Sensing a chance to take the lead, Henry once again came up big and drilled a ball to the back right corner to put her team up by a pair.

“I’ll tell you what, they came out strong. They were ready to play and they wanted that game more,” Hosier said of Chautauqua Lake. “Nothing hit the ground. Those first two games I think they played flawlessly pretty much. They played phenomenal.”

As if it were not enough to try and come back from two sets to none, the Panthers were also forced to climb out of a four-point hole to start the third after Mollie Meadows led the Thunderbirds out of the gates with a tip and a roller.

Service aces from Marra Hovey and Maci Johnson gave Panama some much-needed momentum after that troubling start, but the Panthers were forced to fight tooth-and-nail the rest of the way. Down by four, Kylie Schnars offered an injection of offense with an overhand, a block, a push-winner and back-to-back kills to lead her team out of the woods.

Chautauqua Lake’s Joanne Meadows puts up a set.

“She came back and that was definitely the momentum changer,” Hosier said of Schnars’ play. “The kids started to really believe.”

Chautauqua Lake would earn another lead midway through the fourth at 10-7, but Schnars came back with a brilliant defensive save that was finished off by Bowen. A miscommunication and a hitting error by Chautauqua Lake eventually gave Panama the lead at 20-17, while Schnars added a kill and Bowen a reverse dig to finish things off.

The fifth-and-final set of the night was one where the Panthers could finally pick up a bit of breathing room after taking advantage of hitting errors in the early going. Panama’s lead grew to 10-7 after Schnars earned a block of Anderson, but the Thunderbirds kept pace with an overhand from Meadows.

Down the home stretch, it was the hitting of Angeletti that lifted Panama to victory, as the junior racked up a block and two kills in the final five points of the night.

While Chautauqua Lake would have liked a chance to continue their run this season, Tuesday night’s contest offered a real glimpse at improvement.

“We went from a team that got swept by these guys the first time we played them the first game of the year to going five strong sets against them,” Meadows said. “I’m really proud of how they developed as a team and what they have done together.”

NOTES: Schnars finished with 21 kills and four blocks; Angeletti 15 kills and 14 digs; Maddie Johnson 47 assists and three digs; Bowen 26 assists, 15 kills and two blocks; Maci Johnson 14 digs and a kill; and Alexys Marsh six digs, five kills and one block for Panama. … Anderson grabbed 16 kills, two aces, 26 digs and five blocks; Henry 11 kills, three aces, 19 digs and four blocks; Meadows 23 assists, 12 digs and seven kills; Lily Woodis 22 digs, 17 assists and five blocks; and Jenna Waters 20 digs for Chautauqua Lake.