Even with a lead in the third set, having already taken the first two, China Spring volleyball coach Melissa Cain wasn’t thrilled with what she was seeing.

After all, a Lady Cougar advantage that had swelled to as much as six had been trimmed to one.

It took one play for China Spring to retake control.

China Spring 's Amanda Liggitt (9) scores over Marlin's Vanessa Mayes (7) and Cederia Taylor (12) in the first game of the match.
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald

Marlin’s Raven Diles hit a screamer of a serve down the line that appeared destined to be an ace and would’ve tied the set at 17. But the Lady Cougars scrambled to keep the ball from hitting the floor and eventually got it back over, where Marlin put a shot into the net.

That began a stretch in which China Spring took eight of the final 10 points to polish off the 3-0 victory.

“I told them to refocus and keep swinging aggressively (in the timeout),” Cain said. “You never want to play not to lose. You always want to play to win.”

The Lady Cougars (13-9) never trailed in the first two sets, taking them by 25-16 and 25-18 counts.

China Spring missed 14 serves, but Allison Broadburn helped the Lady Cougars set an aggressive tone from the service line with three of her match-high five aces in the first set.

That allowed them to pick up three or four points at a time and kept the Lady Bulldogs (7-4) from getting into any kind of offensive flow.

“We started something new over the weekend at the Robinson tournament. I started calling their serves for them,” Cain said. “I want them serving with a purpose, and I’m trying to get them comfortable with serving what I’m calling.”

The Lady Cougars jumped on Marlin early in both of the first two sets, but the third started a little differently.

Vanessa Mayes leapt and launched a serve down the line on the first point to hand the Lady Bulldogs their first lead of the night, and Tyneshae Lewis put them up 2-1 with a kill.

But the early success faded as the set progressed, and Krista Koopmann took over with five of her match-best 11 kills.

After Mayes kept Marlin within striking distance with a kill to make it 20-18 in the third, the Lady Cougars ripped off a 5-0 run with Koopmann doing the honors with kills on both of the last two points.

Cain said the Lady Cougars are still trying to get used to her system, and they’re doing it with their starting setter, Katie Billeaud, sidelined with an injury.

Adriana Jimenez has stepped in for her and finished with 23 assists Tuesday.

Jimenez “is a senior who has played every position on the floor, and now we’re trying her at setter,” Cain said. “... I’m pleased with the dynamic, and the team’s pulled together. It gives us added depth, and we might try some different things offensively.”

The Lady Cougars had some trouble closing out the second set. After building up a 23-12 margin, Marlin took six of the next seven points, sparked by back-to-back kills from Cederia Taylor.

But Koopmann made sure the situation didn’t get any more tenuous, ripping a shot down the middle that landed just inside the back line.

Marlin scored twice after China Spring reached set point in the first on a service error and a Taylor kill, but succumbed to defeat on an error.