The West Lauderdale volleyball team came out swinging against Northeast Lauderdale on Thursday night, but the Knights needed a late rally to secure a 3-2 win over the Trojans at home.

“We played really good the first two sets,” Knights coach Doug Everett said. “We just can’t keep our level of play where it needs to be. We’ve done it all year. We’ll play a really good set against a really good team, maybe two good sets, and then we fall apart for two sets.”

The Knights took the first two sets 25-18 and 25-16 before the Trojans dug in to prevent a sweep by taking the third set 25-13. Northeast kept the momentum going into the next set, and the Trojans were able to force a fifth set with a 26-24 win in the fourth.

“(The Trojans) were playing great, they raised their level, and we just went flat,” Doug Everett said. “We’ve got to find a way to keep our level of play up all the time and not have these dips like we’ve had. They go for a long time, too, 20 to 30 minutes of really bad volleyball for us.”

The Trojans fought hard in the fifth, but timely passing and solid serving won the Knights the match with a 15-13 win in the fifth set.

“(The Trojans were) playing as a team the last three sets,” Trojans coach Debrah Everett said. “I think they played the best they could play.”

This marks the second time West came out on top against Northeast this season after the Knights won 3-2 on Sept. 1. Next up, the Trojans return home to play Northeast Jones on Tuesday, Sept. 27, while the Knights play Quitman at home on Tuesday.