If the Ellicottville girls continue to do that, they may be making a return trip to Glens Falls.

Senior Ande Northrup had 24 assists and several of them went to junior Riley Whitmer, who had 13 kills, as the sixth-seeded Eagles beat No. 2 Westfield 25-15, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20 in a Section VI Class D semifinal Monday evening at Westfield Academy & Central School.

“She’s the heartbeat of the team. She really has the pulse. She knows who to give it to, who’s hot and who’s ready,” Auge said of Northrup. “She’s the quarterback. She’s our Josh Allen.”

Next up for Ellicottville, which lost in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association finals a year ago at Cool Insuring Arena, is a sectional final rematch with No. 1 Clymer. The Pirates beat No. 4 Maple Grove 25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 in Monday’s other semifinal.

Ellicottville’s Riley Whitmer sends the ball over the net during Monday’s Section VI Class D semifinal against Westfield at Westfield Academy & Central School. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“Every day, every game, every practice is point by point. That’s the long goal,” Auge said about returning to the state final four, “but we have to work on the here and now first.”

Neither team played mistake-free, but the Eagles were better defensively enabling them to prevail in four sets.

“They made about as many mistakes as we did, but they played really good defense,” Westfield head coach Greg Birner said of the Eagles. “When we were on our game, they were on their game defensively.”

In the first set, Ellicottville coaxed the Wolverines into timeouts at 6-2 and 18-12, the second one coming after Northrup set the ball over the net on the Eagles’ second hit to catch Westfield off-guard.

“It’s the experience that she pulls from,” Auge said of Northrup. “She just is everywhere.”

Then, in the final run, Northrup again set the ball over quickly to make it 21-12 before a crafty back tap from Northrup fell in to make it 23-13. Eventually, the Eagles won the set when the Wolverines’ final serve went long.

“We prepped for that. I think in Game 1, I was kind of disappointed that it caught us, because we were ready for it,” Birner said of Northrup’s unpredictability. “In Games 2, 3 and 4, we were a little bit more disciplined. … Our desire is for that tip, because then you can treat it like a free ball and get on it.”

Ellicottville again jumped out to a lead in the second set, leading 13-5 before a Westfield timeout. The break did wonders for the Wolverines, who gained possession when an Eagles’ spike went long and then rattled off nine straight points with Molly Burgess at the service line. The final point came on an ace that made it 15-13 in Westfield’s favor.

But the postseason experience of the Eagles showed as they didn’t lose composure and eventually regained the lead at 19-18. Whitmer kills made it 20-18 and 24-19 before a Wolverines mishit into the net gave Ellicottville the four-point win.

“She brings the heat, that’s for sure,” Auge said of Whitmer.

Westfield avoided the sweep by scoring the final seven points of the third set after calling timeout with an 18-17 advantage. Avery Smith had a pair of aces during the final run, which ended when the Eagles hit the ball into the net.

“I felt confident throughout the entire evening. I felt like we could come back at any one given moment. In the middle of Game 2 we made a nice comeback, Game 3 we took,” Birner said. “There are definitely big momentum swings in volleyball. If you keep fighting until the end, you never know what’s going to happen in this sport.”

But the Wolverines’ comeback was not to be. Ellicottville led by as many as six at 13-7 in the fourth set. Westfield tied things up at 16-16, but never regained the lead. A Keira Baldwin kill made it 24-20 and Whitmer earned the final service point of the night when a Wolverines block attempt fell to the floor on their own side of the net.

“I always have faith,” Auge said. “At the end of the day, even if it’s their game point, I believe that we can always battle, give it our best and come out on top.”

Now the Eagles will deal with a Clymer team that they beat 25-18, 25-15, 25-14 in last year’s sectional final, and from which they took six out of seven sets during this regular season. The championship match is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Southwestern.

“It’s nice to know because we’ve seen them already, but still, just because you beat a team two times, it’s a clean slate right now,” Auge said. “It’s a 50% chance of winning or losing, so we have to bring it.”

NOTES: Ande Northrup had 13 digs, seven kills and an ace; Whitmer had nine digs and two assists; Faith Burlingame had 12 digs; and Karle Northrup had seven kills, two digs, an ace and an assist for Ellicottville. … Mackenzie Schumaker had six kills; Molly Burgess had 11 digs and two aces; Maddie Burgess had 17 assists; Nahlia Douglas had six kills; and Avery Smith had five kills for Westfield.