The St. Bernard’s girls overcame a slow start on the way to beating the Huskies at Fortuna in volleyball on Wednesday night, rallying from a two-set deficit.

There was little to separate the two schools in an exciting early-season non-league showdown that went the distance, with the visitors closing out strong and winning 16-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-5.

It was a good early-season test for the Huskies going up against the defending Redwood Conference champs (formerly Little 4), and they will face another tough game on Thursday night, when the defending Pacific Conference champs (formerly the Big 5), Eureka, travels to the Friendly City.

Despite the loss, it was an impressive opening performance for a very young Fortuna team that is looking to turn the corner this year.

“Our girls were ready to play. It was a great game,” Fortuna head coach Jacqueline Maschmeier said. “We had some exceptional plays where they didn’t give up on the ball. They fought hard when SB’s hitters started heating up.”

Freshman Temperance Torrez led the hosts with six kills and also had five digs, while teammate Izabella Cruz had a good all-around game, finishing with five kills, three aces and four digs.

Peyton Shelton and Drew Sturdevant each also had four kills for Fortuna, with freshman Bailey Henderson posting team-highs in assists (15) and digs (11).

Fortuna’s Addison Collenberg also made her presence felt on defense and chipped in eight digs, while Quincy Sundberg served a team-best five aces and also had five digs.

This was the first time many of the Fortuna players competed in a five-set game, and some late errors proved costly for a young lineup that featured six freshman on a roster of 13.

But overall it was a positive start.

“They learned what they can be capable of in a game together,” Maschmeier said. “We’re excited to see what our team can do as we progress through the season.”

No stats were immediately available for the Crusaders.