The St. Bernard’s girls got a boost before they open conference play in volleyball with a big performance on Tuesday night.

Less than a week after they fell to Del Norte in straight sets in Crescent City, they played the reigning Big 5 champs agains and pushed them all the way in a five-set loss in Eureka on Tuesday night.

“We have a very strong team and I am confident that we will just keep getting stronger,” St. Bernard’s head coach Rachel Evans said. 

The Crusaders, who open league play at home against Hoopa on Thursday night, lost the match 25-22, 10-25, 23-25, 25-20, 9-15. 

Despite the loss, however, it was a much stronger team performance than last week with the Crusaders taking the fourth set to force a fifth and decisive set.

“Our athletes had a burning desire to win and you could see it,” Evans added. “It was truly a team effort.”

Sahara Tupua continued to impress in the loss and the standout libero finished with 34 serve receives and 21 digs.

“Sahara hustles on the court like no other,” her coach said. “She was covering the whole court and making saves throughout the match … We are blessed to have her on our team.”

Middle hitter Jocelyn Sundberg also had a good night and finished with nine kills and eight points.

“(She) keeps showing herself to be a solid all-around player,” Evans said of Sundberg, who also had 17 serves and 19 serve receives.

Ella Hart also continued to impress and has been one of the team’s most consistent performers through the early season, finishing with 14 points and 25 serves.

Evans described Hart as “one of our strongest servers.”

Outside hitter Natalie McLaughlin added six points in serves and four points by kills, while Makinsey Lemley had 29 sets and 12 assists for kills and Alyssa Boham and Samantha Sundberg each had three kills.