The Enterprise Bulldogs made history when they advanced to their first playoff game in school history this season. They did it again by winning in the first round with a sweep of Franklin County on Oct. 8, and again when they advanced to the third round with a sweep of Raleigh on Tuesday.

Making history was not in the cards for the Bulldogs Thursday night, as they fell to the Our Lady Academy Crescents 3-0 in the third round. The Bulldogs came to compete on their home court, but they went up against a tough Crescents team that played for the championship a year ago. Despite the loss, Enterprise coach Hunter Swart said his team showed him their guts and exceeded his expectations.

“This is only their second year and they’re in the third round of the playoffs, and they came out here and competed against a great volleyball team. I have absolutely zero complaints,” Swart said. “I thought we played really good defensively. I thought we served the ball really well. We gave up a few too many free balls and let them get really nice clean sets and hit it hard.”

OLA swung hard out of the gate and jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set. The Enterprise offense began rolling late in the set, narrowing the deficit to 21-16, but a four-point run allowed the Crescents to take the first set 25-16. Swart told his girls to keep fighting all season, and he repeated the motto after the opening set.

“Keep fighting, keep fighting, keep fighting,” Swart said. “We’re a brand-new program, so the expectation is what they made it. I told them to set a goal, ‘Let’s get to playoffs and see what happens.’”

The Bulldogs stuck with the Crescents for most of the second set. They tied OLA at 4-4 and again at 14-14. However, OLA gave up just two points while scoring 11 to close out the second set 25-16.

“We knew we had to fight or that was the end,” senior Enterprise libero Kylee Raye Dewitt said. “I think they came out and competed really well. We prepared for them and we gave all we could.”

The Crescents did not give the Bulldogs any space to make a comeback in the final set. They quickly built a 16-3 lead before ending the Bulldogs’ playoff run with a 25-12 victory in the third set. The Bulldogs never built much momentum in the last set, but the gym was filled with deafening support from Enterprise fans and the Bulldogs’ bench all night long.

“It was a loss, but we still played so good as a team,” Enterprise senior Zoe Boos said. “They’ve been at it for longer than we have. They definitely have more experience, but I definitely think they knew we were on our court tonight.”

Swart said the Bulldogs are still figuring out the game, but they want to advance further in the future. The Bulldogs start offseason workouts in June, which they will do without their departing seniors.

“I think the season went really well,” Dewitt said. “We made history, and there’s nothing that can compare to that.”