Iron Mountain junior Bella Person (12) taps the ball past the West Iron block of Haylie Murillo (9), at left, and Lily DeSousa (5) in Mountaineer Gym on Thursday. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Until Thursday night, the Iron Mountain volleyball team had not been in a five-set match all season. The Mountaineers’ opponents, the West Iron County Wykons, had been in four, including two of their previous four matches.

The two West Pac Conference squads split the first four sets in their matchup Thursday before the Wykons showed some of their experience in long encounters by racing out to a 6-1 lead in the deciding set en route to a 24-26, 25-18, 25-18, 27-29, 15-8 victory at Mountaineer Gym.

West Iron senior middle Sydney Storti belted a kill on game point to end the rollercoaster match.

“We’ve come out short in the fifth set (three times) because we’ve fallen into a hole in the beginning,” Storti said. “But when we come out with fire and we keep the energy and the hype up, it’s much (better).”

Fighting off the disappointment of dropping two match points in the fourth, the Wykons (11-7-2) got a leg up early in the fifth set, keyed by a kill each from Storti and Bristol Shamion and a tip plus a 50-50 ball win at the net by Lily DeSousa.

West Iron senior Haylie Murillo (9) watches her shot soar past the Mountaineers’ block of Macy Linsenbigler (18) on Thursday in Iron Mountain. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

Down by five early, the Mountaineers (4-11) never pulled closer than three points the remainder of the set.

IM coach Jeanne Newberry emphasized how fast fifth sets often go and the importance of not letting mistakes linger.

“It’s a seven-minute (set) from start to finish,” IM coach Jeanne Newberry said of the clincher. “You get two timeouts and if you use them, then it’s a nine-minute game. “(And) I tell them, it’s a five-second rule. You can’t worry about the last point, you’ve got to keep your focus on the fact that you have to work at each point.

“There are no free points given at that point,” she added.

The tenor of the match was established in the first set as neither team led by more than three points. Storti started the match with two tips to help give her team a 4-1 lead, but aces by Gerilis Sampoll Torres and Juliana Tapio helped the Mountaineers tie the set at 11-all.

West Iron County freshman Bristol Shamion (11) charges an Iron Mountain serve during Thursday’s five set clash at Mountaineer Gym. The Wykons rallied to pick up a 3-2 win over the Mountaineers. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

Later the Mountaineers held a 24-22 lead, but the Wykons pulled even on a Storti kill and an IM passing error. However, West Iron then missed two hitting attempts and the hosts won the set 26-24.

“We came out well balanced with them on paper and that showed in the first game,” Newberry said.

West Iron responded quickly to the opening-set defeat, building a 9-3 advantage aided by two kills and an ace by DeSousa, a kill each from Shamion, Haylie Murillo and Addi Bortolameolli.

Iron Mountain junior middle Bella Person stepped forward with three straight kills to get her team back in the set.

Nevertheless, the Wykons came back to establish control at 16-10 as IM’s hitting percentage dropped mid-set and two kills by Bortolameolli and another by Shamion pulled WIC even at one set each.

Bortolameolli and Shamion, both freshmen starters, have increased their production as the season has proceeded and have become key cogs for the Wykons.

“They definitely filled roles that we had lost last year,” Storti said, “and without them I don’t think we would play as well as a team.”

West Iron continued its momentum into the third set and led from wire-to-wire.

Shamion registered a kill, a tip and an ace to get the Wykons rolling before Murillo and Storti took over later with two kills each. DeSousa served an ace at match point to put her team on the way to winning in four.

But the Mountaineers were not done. Iron Mountain built a quick 6-1 lead, sparked by a block and a kill by Macy Linsenbigler, a kill by Lucy Baumgartner and an ace by Juliana Tapio.

However, West Iron climbed back into the set and took a 18-16 led on two IM miscues. The Mountaineers responded though, led by Person’s three kills.

The set balanced on a knife’s edge down the stretch before the Wykons tightened up and committed three consecutive errors to give IM the fourth set.

“This was not our best performance at all,” WIC coach Konner Bjorkman said. “We were making all the errors. I think they had to dig deep. I think a lot of them were frustrated with themselves.”

Two key performances for the Mountaineers came from Sampoll Torres at libero and Person at the net.

Sampoll Torres seemed to cover the entire IM back row at times and finished with a game-high 30 digs.

“She kind of looks like the game is slow to her and therefore her movement is a pivot, a pivot, a pivot,” Newberry said. “She always seems like she’s right where she needs to be.”

Meanwhile, Person tied Linsenbigler for team high in kills with 13 and also provided seven blocks.

“Bella’s been working really hard at working the net and you can tell by her swing blocking that she has been able to get her body around the block,” Newberry said.

Additionally, Tapio paced IM with 23 assists and Whitney Siren added 15 digs.

All told, Thursday’s match provided a bit of everything, as most five-set matches do.

“We can play,” Bjorkman said of her group. “We can play a long night; we can play with grit. We can make smart choices, so I think this is preparing us for long games against (future opponents).”

“We’re getting closer to the end of the season,” Newberry said. “They’re just now becoming more attached to what I’m asking them to do. And they’re adjusting well. I’m proud of them.”