A seven-point Hinckley-Big Rock lead in the third set turned into a one-point lead for Indian Creek late in the teams’ Little Ten Conference battle.

Having lost a couple of three-game sets in a row, the Royals needed a response. And they got it.

The Royals scored the last four points to secure a 25-19, 16-25, 25-22 win over the Timberwolves on Friday in Shabbona.

“We’ve been on a losing streak, so to pick up a win feels great,” H-BR senior setter Anna Herrmann said. “I think it’s going to start our winning streak this week hopefully. It felt really nice to pick up a win.”

The Royals (2-4, 1-1) lost three-set matches to both Serena and North Boone last week. They beat Plano in three last month.

After the Royals went up 16-10 in the final set, Indian Creek coach Matt Orstead called a timeout. Mia Cotton picked up her seventh service point in a row, this one on an ace.

But the Timberwolves (0-9, 0-2) roared back and scored 12 of the next 16 points for a 22-21 lead.

“To see them fight back like that, it’s huge,” Orstead said. “It’s a hard thing to overcome when you’re trailing at your own house. We’re still struggling to find a win. The girls wanted it.”

Hannah Liakas picked up an ace to put the Royals up 23-22, Emma Orin notched a kill, then the team closed out the set on a block by Orin.

Hinckley-Big Rock coach Jessica Havernick said she was glad to see her team answer late in the third set.

“We’ve been falling short on the aggressiveness and the need to finish the play,” Havernick said. “So we worked a lot on finishing the game. It was nice to see the work we put so much time into finally come out and we finally get to say we’ve won our first conference game.”

Each team cruised in its wins. The Timberwolves briefly led for a few points in the first set, with the lead peaking at 11-9. But Herrmann tied things up at 11 with an ace, followed by a Julianne Micelli kill, which put the Timberwolves ahead for good.

Indian Creek committed seven service errors in the match they lost by six.

The Royals scored the first point in the second set and never led again. Freshman Kendra Buh had seven kills in the match and was dominant in the second set. Two of her kills put the Timberwolves up 10 in the final match at 20-10 and 24-14.

“She’s been playing well,” Orstead said. “Even though she’s young, she has a very good volleyball IQ. She’s got some club experience so she’s been continuing to come into her own. I think she’ll continue to get better and better as the year goes on.”

Havernick chalked up the second-set struggles to a very loud student section that led to some communication issues for the Royals as the passing and setting game struggled to connect for stretches.

“My girls got more in their heads, so the communication went down,” Havernick said. “We couldn’t hear each other talking anymore. If we were talking, we were being drowned out. That second set was very loud, very chaotic.”