GREENCASTLE — Greencastle found itself on the brink of an upset defeat Thursday night.

The No. 1 seed Blue Devils trailed Manheim Central 2-1 in games in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal volleyball matchup and were down to match point in the fourth game, trailing 24-18.

Bri Woodring

But Bri Woodring caught a hot streak while serving and Greencastle racked up eight consecutive points to tie the match 2-2 with a 26-24 victory. The Blue Devils then rolled to a 15-3 trouncing in the fifth set to earn a 3-2 victory.

“It was a huge comeback,” G-A coach Corry Eagler said. “I’m so proud of these girls for remaining calm, blocking out the noise and making big plays when we needed them.”

The Blue Devils (18-0) will take on another unbeaten team, No. 4 Northern Lebanon (16-0), in a semifinal match on Tuesday at 7 p.m.  in Greencastle. The Vikings prevailed over James Buchanan 3-2 on Thursday in a wild match.

The Barons (13-7) captured wins in the first two games, 25-22 and 25-19.

Eagler said, “The girls struggled in the first couple games to find their groove. Manheim Central did a good job of placing their hits and our serve receive was off.”

Kate Furnish

But Greencastle gave their fans some hope by winning the third set, 25-19. Then came the rollercoaster fourth game to tie it up.

“Once Lily (Kauffman) starting blocking No. 13 from Manheim Central (center Madison Knier), we started to rally and we were able to get in system for our attackers to hit,” Eagler said. “And Bri was huge in serving tough when we were down 18-24 in game four to let us pull out the win.”

Kate Furnish had a fine match, contributing 12 kills, 18 service points, 5 aces and 2 blocks. Kiley Burkholder had 12 kills, 9 points and 13 digs.

Abby Eagler put up 11 kills, 21 points and 4 aces, and sister Madie Eagler had 36 assists and 17 points. Woodring ended up with 9 points and 11 digs, Kauffman made 10 kills and Ryleigh Davis had 11 points.