DIGGING IT — Weir High’s Janai Turner makes a two-handed return during the Red Riders’ game Wednesday at Wheeling Park. They lost the match in five sets. Turner had 44 digs. — Kim North

WHEELING — Wednesday night’s high school volleyball game between Weir High and Wheeling Park was one of those where neither team deserved to lose, but as is often the case, one of the teams had to lose even though both tried their best.

The Patriots (2-2-1) avenged a two-set loss to the Red Riders (4-3) at the Country Roads Classic at Oak Glen over the weekend with a five-set, back-and-forth victory at the Palace on the Hill. The scores were 25-16, 14-25, 25-16, 23-25 ​​and 15-12.

“I think we just worked really hard and got better,” Wheeling Park head coach Samantha Gentle said of Saturday’s turnaround. “I have some kids that didn’t play up to their expectations, but they worked with their setter and did a really good job tonight.

“I thought my girls really fought and that was nice to see,” Gentle added. “Hopefully that’s something to build on in the future. I was really happy for the girls.”

After splitting the first four sets, the teams traded points in the fifth set until Wheeling Park took the final lead, 9-8, after a thunderous kill from Lily Brinker. Lexi Irwin served three points while Brinker and Delaney Randolph scored kills for a 12-8 lead.

Weir was able to get back to 13:12 thanks to a brilliant kill from Maleea Faulks, but a block from Italy Schroeder of the Patriots gave the hosts the match point. After several volleys, a return from the Red Riders sailed far over the baseline and gave Wheeling Park the redeeming victory.

“We knew from the beginning that we had to play hard,” said Weir head coach Francesca Capaldi. “Both teams played really, really well. I think we made some mistakes in key situations. I think that really hurt us.”

The first set was all about runs as Wheeling Park built a 10-4 lead, but Weir fought back and tied it. The Patriots were up 19-16, Randolph took the final six points from the service line, including two aces, and a kill from Tiarah Sutphin rounded out the 25-16 victory.

Weir pulled away in the middle of the second set and relied on the athletic play of libero Janai Turner and frontliner Brayley Lash for a 25-14 win.

Wheeling Park ended an 8-8 tie in the third set with a 10-2 spurt to take an 18-10 lead before pulling away for the win 25-16.

The Red Riders overcame an early 10-5 deficit in the fourth set to tie the match at 14-14. The set was tied four more times – the last time at 23 – before a perfectly placed left-handed shot from Lash gave the visitors a 24-23 lead. Elle Maley’s tip forced a fifth set.

Irwin led the Patriots in receptions with 38 receptions and 29 digs. Campbell Hughes added 26 assists, two more than Gracyn Davis. Schroeder finished with six kills and three blocks, while Sutphin had five kills and three blocks. Brinker finished with 18 kills and Grace Tamburin had 11. Randolph had five aces.

For Weir, Turner was literally everywhere on the court as she recorded 44 digs. Amalia Kirlangitis had 15 assists and 11 digs, while Marissa Mascio contributed 10 digs and a dozen kills. Lash finished with 10 kills, five blocks and four digs. Faulks contributed 13 kills and a half-dozen digs. Maley blocked six shots and Kylie Dean had 16 assists and five digs.