It was the third meeting between the two schools this season. The Lady Hearts lost in two games in the earlier matches, but showed a real determination in the second game Thursday night.

It was 17-17 when EHS when on a deciding 8-1 run. Alexis Chrappa had three kills and Jacy Boatman closed out the 25-18 win with another, setting up the deciding third game.

“We played hard and scored some aggressive points in that second game,” Bohnhoff noted. “The difference was their blockers didn’t get as many chances. That made a huge difference.”

Charleston never trailed in the third contest, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. The Lady Hearts got within 5-4, but still trailed 10-6 when Kallis took over at the service line. Her serves were hit hard and low to the net, making returns very difficult. When EHS finally registered another point, the deficit had increased to 18-6.

 It was tough for both teams to get into a real flow due to the number of double hit calls.

“We haven’t been in a match this year where so many of those calls were made,” Bohnhoff said. “The hits have to be clean and simultaneous with both hands. There were a lot of tough calls tonight. Neither team was able to get into a flow.”

For the Lady Hearts, Mattie Angel had 5 assists; Eliza Montgomery 1 dig, 1 block; Taylor O’Dell 2 assists; Hayley Diveley 1 kill, 11 assists, 2 aces, 1 dig, 1 block; Alexis Chrappa 12 kills, 6 digs; Kennedy Sowell 2 kills, 2 blocks; Sam Urch 3 kills, 2 blocks; Jacy Boatman 2 kills, 1 assist, 11 digs, 1 block; Callie Feldhake 3 digs, 1 block; and Olivia Martin 1 assist, 11 digs.

Effingham finished its season with an 18-18 record.

“We’ve had an up and down year,” Bohnhoff said. “But when I think of our season, I will remember our youth and how they improved and also how our hitting improved. We worked hard this year and I’m really proud of the kids.

“In the next couple years, you’re going to see a lot of W’s come out of this group,” Bohnhoff added. “There is certainly talent to build on. The future is bright.”