The student section made a welcome return at Eureka High on Thursday night, as the Loggers hosted St. Bernard’s in an exciting volleyball match that went the distance.

But it was the visiting Crusaders who won the match, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to pull out a 13-25, 25-18, 9-25, 25-12, 25-10 victory.

Regardless of the result, Eureka head coach Stephanie Napoleon was delighted with the atmosphere and afterwards paid tribute to the “great student section.”

“The gym was loud and it felt like pre-COVID,” she said. “It was great! Thank you everyone who came out to support our Lady Loggers.”

Mariah Napoleon continued her impressive start to the season for the home team, making 17 straight serves in their big third set win.

Mariah finished with 14 aces in the match, while Pule Fonoti added five aces in her Loggers debut against her former team.

Maeghan Hampton and Aniah Gaither added four kills each.

No final stats were available for St. Bernard’s, but we will have more on the Crusaders early next week before they open league play at Ferndale.

Huskies get key Big 5 road win

The Fortuna Huskies got their Big 5 volleyball campaign off to an impressive start with a big win at Arcata on Wednesday night, winning in straight sets, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22.

Senior Hannah Uutela led a balanced team performance with 16 kills, while sophomore Grace Scilacci finished with 14 kills.

“The performance was great,” said head coach Rob Hayes, whose team improved to 1-0 in league and 6-2 overall. “Our defense and coverage all the way around was superb.”

Libby Johnston also had a big game, finishing with 13 kills and more than 10 digs, as did Lily Larue, who added 12 kills and an impressive eight blocks.

Kylee Fennell also had a say in the win with more than 10 digs, while sophomore setter Sarah Keating “was on point all night,” according to her coach.

For Arcata, Olivia Railsback finished with 15 digs, while Caroline Dieker had six kills and Nora Talty had a good night serving.

Next up, on Tuesday the Huskies will host Eureka, while Arcata travels to McKinleyville.