Cassadi Colbert of LCA celebrates during sectional play at Bethany Christian Thursday night.

GOSHEN – The Lakeland Christian Academy volleyball team had a night to remember Thursday.

The Cougars made program history despite a first-round loss to Elkhart Christian Academy in the Class 1-A Bethany Christian Sectional.

LCA collected the first sectional set win as a member of the IHSAA in their hard-fought 3-1 loss to the Eagles.

The Cougars, who joined the IHSAA in 2012, won the first set Thursday night 27-25. ECA, which just beat LCA 3-0 last Thursday, then went on to win the final three sets 25-16, 25-16, 25-13 to advance to the semifinal round on Saturday.

LCA coach Glenn Goldsmith knew it was a big moment for his scrappy team.

“Our goal was to win a set in the sectional for the first time ever and we did that tonight,” said Goldsmith. “To get that first one is special. We may have lost 3-1, but our girls can hold their heads up high. This is the most exciting night of the season for us. Now we have to make another goal of winning a sectional match.”

The Cougars showed plenty of fight in the long opening set. LCA started strong with a quick 4-0 lead behind the serving of senior Hannah Delp. The Eagles fought back to build a 16-12 edge before Goldsmith took a timeout. The Cougars rallied behind the serving of Heather Plastow and Bailey Wiley and the hitting of Cassadi Colbert to take a 24-19 advantage.

ECA, led by standout Hannah Wyngarden, then used a 6-0 scoring run to take a 25-24 lead. LCA never flinched as the Cougars tallied the final three points of the first set for the dramatic and history-making 27-25 win.

Hannah Delp prepares to serve for LCA.

The Eagles, who improve to 16-11, controlled the second and third sets with fast starts and strong effort from behind the service line. The Cougars struggled to pass the ball in the second and third games to fall down 2-1.

The final set was close early on as it was tied four times, including at 7-7. ECA took control though with a 9-0 run, sparked by the serving performance of Skylar Biddle, to lead 16-7. The Cougars could not recover from there in dropping the 25-13 final.

“They beat us on the serve tonight,” Goldsmith said. “We stopped passing their serves. Kudos to them for serving great tonight. We had minor runs, but they had major runs and we could not catch up.

“My seniors played their hearts out tonight. Hannah (Delp) had strep all week and Carissa (Urschalitz) just never gives up out there. As a group, these girls made significant progress this season. Their growth was impressive. We had a rough stretch in the middle of the season, but they never gave up.

“Our two freshmen (Cassidi Colbert and Carlie Wise) and sophomore Bailey Wiley all stepped up. We dove more on the floor tonight than we have in any match all season. We challenged them on that and they responded.”

Promising frosh Colbert, a 5-7 middle, led the Cougar offense with 11 kills. She also had four blocks, eight digs and an ace.

Carissa Urschalitz goes up to serve.

Hannah Delp, one of two senior starters, had five kills, an ace, one block and eight digs. Senior Carissa Urschalitz had five kills to go with 10 digs and a block. Sophomore Bailey Wiley had nine digs, two aces and one block. Sophomore Heather Plastow finished with two aces and 16 digs. Freshman Carlie Wise had two aces.

The Cougars lose three seniors in Delp, Urschalitz and Brighty Walters.

Wyngarden, one of just two seniors for ECA, led the winners with 20 kills. She had 19 kills on Oct. 15 to lead the Eagles past the Cougars 26-24, 25-16, 25-11.

ECA will face No. 8 Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (25-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the first semifinal match back at Bethany Christian. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian beat Lakewood Park Christian 3-0 in the second match Thursday night.

Host Bethany Christian will play Hamilton in the second semifinal on Saturday with the winners meeting in the championship match at 7 p.m.