Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The race for this year’s Big 5 championship took another turn on Tuesday night.

Playing in front of a packed gym and great atmosphere on their annual fundraising Pink Night, the Arcata Tigers won another five-set thriller against the Eureka Loggers, leaving the two schools tied atop the conference standings.

The Arcata girls won 24-26, 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7.

And with three games remaining, the title is unlikely to be decided until the final night of the regular season.

The Del Norte Warriors, who will host both conference-leading teams over the stretch run, also won on Tuesday, getting the better of Fortuna in Crescent City (25-15, 25-14, 27-29, 25-17) to move within one win of Arcata and Eureka.

The game at Arcata High was the second to go five sets between the Tigers and Loggers in conference play.

“Both teams played really well and it was a battle all night long,” Arcata head coach Laurie Griffith said. “Our strong serving and teamwork put us over the top.”

The loss was the first in conference for the Loggers, who had 22 missed serves.

“Overall, our team played well,” Eureka head coach Stephanie Napoleon said. “They were able to keep their energy up and went all out. Ultimately, it was our missed serves that we couldn’t overcome.”

The Arcata players also raised more than $2000 on their annual Pink Night.

Nora Brumbaugh led the way in the win and finished with 15 kills, while teammate Pearl Smith also impressed and added 14 kills, giving the home team a potent one-two punch for much of the night.

Kyla Kinyon and Colby Eisner both also had good nights with some “tough net play,” according to their coach.

Harper Appy also was hugely influential with her all-around play.

“Harper Appy was all over the court, putting up great sets for our hitters,” Griffith said.

Tiarah Maualuga had another huge game for Eureka and finished with 16 kills, 10 digs, three aces and two blocks, while Alena Battle also impressed and had 16 kills and six blocks.

Macy Secor added seven kills, seven digs and five aces, Ramona Dusel had 21 assists, five kills, three digs, an ace and a block, and Violla Kingsang added 20 assists, 10 digs and two aces.

Rounding out a good all-around team performance for the visitors, Eddy Hale finished with 13 figs and four aces, Kaitlynn Whitehead had two kills, four digs and a block and Elizabeth Rominger finished with four blocks and a kill.

Up in Crescent City, meanwhile, the Warriors made sure they would remain in contention for the conference title ahead of a huge home game against Arcata on Thursday night.

“We dropped one set but came back strong,” Del Norte coach Petra Lorenzi said. “We are focusing on treating each contact as an opportunity to get better, while getting mentally and physically ready for Arcata Thursday.”

Bliss Blackburn was instrumental in the win once again and finished with a team-high 18 kills and 12 digs for a double-double.

The senior standout also had four aces and a block.

Bella Arriola also impressed and finished with seven kills and a block, while Sierra Brennan had 12 digs and four aces.

And after the win, the Warriors’ attention immediately turned towards Thursday’s big showdown.

“Our goal Thursday is to excel in communication, be disciplined and bring a high energy level to the court,” Lorenzi said. “If we can do those things and fight, it should be an amazing match to be a part of and we’ll see who comes out on top.”

No stats were available for the Huskies.

Also on Thursday, Eureka plays at McKinleyville.