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Eureka and Del Norte set up what is likely to be a true championship game for the Big 5 title in two weeks after taking care of business in their respective games on Thursday night.

And it could end up being a three-way for the championship if Del Norte can win that big showdown.

The Warriors entertained co-conference leaders Arcata and ended the Tigers’ four-game winning streak in the Big 5 with a four-sets win (25-21, 25-14, 20-25 26-24).

With that result, both schools moved to 4-2 in the Big 5 and into a tie for second.

Eureka, meanwhile, traveled to McKinleyville and won 25-14, 25-12, 25-11 to go to 5-1 and retake sole possession of the conference lead.

If the Loggers win their final two games — at home against Fortuna and at Del Norte — they would be crowned outright conference champs and end a seven-year wait for a title.

Bliss Blackburn had a huge game for Del Norte as she continues to play at an MVP level in her final high school volleyball season.

Blackburn finished with a game-high 23 kills and several digs, but her influence went well beyond that.

“She controlled the game. It was pretty phenomenal,” Del Norte coach Petra Lorenzi said. “She’s a special kid.”

Bailey Nunez also had a good night in the win and added eight kills, as she continues to grow as a player.

“She showed a lot more maturity last night,” Lorenzi said. “She really stepped up using her shots and being smart out on the court.”

Pearl Smith led the Tigers with 12 kills, while Nora Brumbaugh added 11 kills and Colby Eisner finished with nine kills.

As you would expect from two programs that have accounted for the past five conference championships between them, there was little to separate the two teams.

“Definitely it was a battle, like we knew it was going to be,” Lorenzi said. 

However, the home team won the opening two sets and that would prove too big a hurdle for the visitors to overcome.

“We didn’t get into our groove until game three, and it was too tough a task to go down 0-2 and beat Del Norte,” Arcata head coach Laurie Griffith said. 

The Del Norte players started fast and never relented.

“They did a phenomenal job,” Lorenzi said. “We’re just extremely proud that they showed up this week with the mindset to work on the little things they would need to do to be successful against a good team.”

Gianna Antonetti had four aces in the win, while sophomore Sierra Brennan displayed poise beyond her years with some clutch serves late in the fourth set that would help clinch the win.

“Sierra has ice in her veins,” Lorenzi said.

The Del Norte coach also praised the contributions of her team defense, with several players helping to set the tone on that side of the ball.

“Our defense did a phenomenal job of keeping us in the game,” she said.

At McKinleyville, meanwhile, the Loggers did a nice job bouncing back from Tuesday’s disappointing loss at Arcata and retook the lead in the conference standings.

Tiarah Maualuga finished with a team-high 10 kills in the win, while teammates Alena Battle and Ramona Dusel each had six kills.

Violla Kingsang also had a good game and finished with 15 assists, while Makenna McNamara had six assists, Macy Secor had six aces and Zuma Kan chipped in 13 digs.

The Eureka freshmen and JV teams also won their games, and many of the players stuck around afterwards to cheer on the varsity in such a pivotal game, bringing “the energy,” according to Eureka head coach Stephanie Napoleon.

“Love to see the camaraderie between the teams supporting each other,” she said. “It is a real fun group on all three teams this year.”

With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 1-4 in conference play, but there were some positives.

“We had bright moments where we had great rallies and hung in with them,” head coach Ashley Washburn said. “However, we struggled to minimize our errors. We made some adjustments on our defense to help against two of their really strong hitters and that allowed our defense to get better touches on their hits.”

Washburn felt her team showed more composure than in the first conference meeting between these two schools.

“Overall, we had a better game than the last time we faced them,” she said. “There’s always room to improve and it was fun to see Eureka work so cohesively as a unit. I wish them luck with the rest of their season.”