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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – The Briarwood Christian Lions and Helena Huskies entered Thursday, Sept. 14’s clash at Helena High School with two different goals in mind.

The Lions hoped to turn around a loss in their area opener to regain momentum within a crucial part of their schedule, while Helena sought to go 2-0 in area play.

In the end, it was Briarwood who came out on top as the Lions won the match, 3-1, after going down 1-0 to start the match.

In the opening set, the Lions and Huskies came out swinging, which led to a tight set as the first set came down to the final points.

Ultimately, Helena won the first set, 25-22, which put the Huskies up, 1-0, as they sought to establish control of the match now that they led.

While the second set was similarly close, this time, it was Briarwood who was in the driver’s seat at the end. The Lions fended off the Huskies on set point, as Helena could have forced extra points, but Briarwood took the deciding point.

Briarwood’s 25-23 second set win tied the match at one set win apiece and set the tone for the rest of the match.

Briarwood used that set win to power its way to a lead in the third set. While Helena was within five points of Briarwood at the end and could have drawn closer, the Lions still took the set win.

With a 25-20 win in the third set, Briarwood took a 2-1 lead in the match and put Helena in a must-win situation going into the fourth set.

Ultimately, Briarwood still got out in front in the fourth set and took a third straight set win thanks to its largest margin of victory in the match.

The Lions won the fourth set, 25-17, and they won the match, 3-1, to take their first area win of the season.

Up next for Briarwood, the Lions will host a pair of tri-matches against local foes. First, Briarwood will face Ramsay and Hoover on Tuesday, Sept. 19, and then, the Lions will take on Gardendale and Leeds to close out the week on Thursday, Sept. 21.