So it was fitting that Coach Joanne Meadows’ team would have to beat the Panthers for a third time to clinch its second straight Section VI Class D title Monday at Brocton High School.

Panama gave Chautauqua Lake all that it could handle, including its only first-set loss of the season, but the Thunderbirds rallied to win the final three sets and beat the Panthers 13-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23.

Next up for Chautauqua Lake is Friday’s 6 p.m. date with Section V’s champion at Hamburg High School. The Rochester area is in the process of crowning its overall Class D winner this week. D2 champion Pavilion will take on D3 champion Batavia-Notre Dame at 5 p.m. today at Victor High School. The winner of that matchup will take on D1 champion Harley-Allendale Columbia on Thursday, just one day before the regional in Hamburg.

“It’s not like playing two football games or basketball games in a row. You don’t need as long of a recovery time,” Meadows said. “I’m glad I have a couple of days to work, but I think sometimes playing is almost better than sitting.”

Chautauqua Lake Thunderbirds from left Tatem Zemcik, Jenna Waters and Jenna Harle raise the Section VI Class D championship plaque after defeating Panama in three sets on Monday in Brocton. Photo by Deb Bailey

Early Monday evening, it looked like Panama might be the team representing Section VI later this week. The Panthers jumped out to leads of 4-0, 10-4 and 16-8 and 20-10 in the first set. Chautauqua Lake closed to within eight, but a Kylie Morgan gave serve back to the Panthers before Kylie Range served out the set.

“I think we started out a little nervous and a little psyched up by the crowd and the enormity of the game.” Meadows said. “We got off to a slow start and had a lot of hitting errors in that first set. If you dig a whole for yourself it’s hard to come back.”

A Mandy Brink ace gave Panama a 3-1 lead early in the second set before the Thunderbirds began to find their footing. Chautauqua Lake took the lead for good at 8-7 and a Hannah Group kill eventually convinced Hosier to spend a timeout at 16-10.

“Hannah is just coming back after being out two weeks with a knee injury. I think she’s pretty brave playing with some pain and sometimes she’s a little bit hesitant landing,” Meadows said. “We played a couple of games without her, and we played decently, but she’s the one we go to when we need to get the ball down.”

The Panthers then rallied all the way back and took a lead at 20-19 before Meadows took a timeout one point later. The Thunderbirds rallied for the final six points of the set, finishing it off with a Mallory Morrison ace that deflected off the net.

The Thunderbirds pose with their patches after winning the sectional championship. Photo by Deb Bailey

“We, as a team, have improved so much from the first time, to the second time, until now,” Panama head coach Tammy Hosier said. “Our defense has gotten so much better, our offense, everything.”

A back-and-forth third set was tied as late as 20-20. A cross-court kill from Group followed by a pair of Panama errors made it 23-20. The Panthers eventually got within a point when Lilly Odell dug out two Chautauqua Lake hits and the Thunderbirds sent a third attempt into the net to make it 24-23, but Panama hit a spike into the net on set point to give No. 1 Chautauqua Lake a 25-23 victory.

“One of our keys was to start out strong and get that first set. We did that,” Hosier said. “There were a couple of times where we were down by quite a few and they did not give up. They kept rallying back and got the momentum back on our side. In those sets that we lost, we were right there.”

An early 8-3 lead in the fourth set gave the Thunderbirds just enough breathing room to eventually finish out the match. The Panthers got within a point at 21-20 and 24-23 late, but Morrison sent a ball over on match point that Panama dug out and sent into the net twice before failing to save the point.

“Honestly, I felt like our serve-receive was probably the best tonight that it’s been all season,” Hosier said. “We kind of went into tip and push over, and that’s not our strength. Our strength is hitting the ball and we kind of fell into that. … We wanted to get the ball to the middle in back … and I don’t think we really did that enough.”

Chautauqua Lake’s Hannah Group goes up to spike the ball. Photo by Deb Bailey

Ava Olson had nine kills, 16 digs and 17 assists while Brynn Engdahl added nine kills and 26 digs for Chautauqua Lake.

“Brynn, I think lately the last couple of games, has been hitting more and more. She’s been one of our more steady hitters. People look at her and she’s barely 5 feet tall. Nobody looks at her and is afraid, but she hits the ball hard and hits it into smart places,” Meadows said of Engdahl. “In the last match and in this match, she’s really been leading our attack a lot.”

Alex Reyda, who had two key kills late in the final set, chipped in eight kills and eight digs.

“She jumps really well and can see the court really well. That’s a kid who is just starting to get to her peak now,” Meadows added of Reyda. “This is her first year starting. She put a lot of time in during the offseason to get to where she is. Having her really rounds out our offense.”

The Thunderbirds will need all of their players at their best to knock off Section V’s champion, especially if its Pavilion, which went 2-4 in pool play at last year’s state tournament.

Panama’s Sarah Harvey goes up to spike the ball. Photo by Deb Bailey

“I have to think it’s going to be Pavilion,” Meadows said. “I just think they are a solid team and they’re good.”

NOTES: Group had seven kills, six digs and a block; Tatem Zemcik had seven kills and two blocks; Morrison had 19 assists, 15 digs, three kills, two blocks and an ace; and Jenna Waters had 32 digs and two aces for Chautauqua Lake. … Jo Bailey had 14 kills, six blocks and two aces; Brink had 32 assists, 18 digs and two aces; Sarah Harvey had 17 digs and nine kills; and Corinne Hovey had 16 digs for Panama.

Panama’s Kylie Morgan (24) goes to spike the ball as Chautauqua Lake’s Zemcik (4) jumps up for a block. Photo by Deb Bailey