On two points late in the first set of Monday’s volleyball match between host Putnam County and Serena, the Panthers — namely junior libero Sarah Wiesbrock and sophomore setter/hitter Britney Trinidad — made all-out defensive plays that turned into points and pushed the momentum to their team’s side.

Putnam County used other scrappy efforts throughout the match to eventually secure a 27-25, 25-22 victory over the Huskers in R.M. Germano Gym in Granville.

“The last week or so we’ve flipped a switch, and our defense and teamwork has been very good,” Putnam County coach Amy Bell said, her team now 8-7 on the season. “All the girls are working well together and playing aggressive. This was a total team effort, and I thought we showed a lot of scrappiness.

“We had what you need to win tonight, girls making plays to keep the ball alive and then girls putting away kills off of those plays. Hopefully we can continue to build off tonight moving forward.”

The hosts jumped out to leads of 7-1 and 11-3 in the opening set, due in part to three kills and an ace from Myah Richardson and a pair of aces from Trinidad.

Serena bounced back and used a four-point service run by Brynley Glade, including an ace and a kill and block from Kendall Whiteaker, to take a 16-15 lead.

The Panthers used a kill by Richardson and a three-point burst by Weisbrock to hold a 21-17 advantage, but aces by Whiteaker and Anna Hjerpe and a kill by Emily Hoffman put the visitors on top 25-24.

However, a Serena net violation and hitting error preceded an ace by Chloe Parcher to finish off the first set.

“I really feel like our teamwork the past two matches has been the best it’s been all season,” said Weisbrock, who finished with a match-best 19 digs and four assists. “We are all working together on every point and playing as hard as we can for each other.

“We also have had great communication on the court. Everyone is talking and helping each other as much as they can. We are playing with a lot of trust and confidence right now.”

In the second set, Serena was able to push out to a 17-13 lead, but PC came back to tie things with Richardson putting down a pair of kills.

After a hitting error, the Panthers used a kill by Ella Pyszka, consecutive winners from Parcher and an ace by Richardson to lead 21-18.

Serena’s Hjerpe stopped the run with a kill, but a pair of service and hitting errors eventually gave Putnam County the victory.

Richardson led Putnam County with nine kills, five digs, three assists, two aces and two blocks. Parcher (three digs, two blocks) and Trinidad (10 digs, five assists) each had two kills. Kennedy Holocker posted 12 digs and Pyszka seven digs.

The Huskers — now 9-5-1 — were led by Anna Hjerpe (eight kills, seven digs, two aces), Rebekah Shugrue (nine digs, 12 assists, an ace), Brynley Glade (three aces, three digs) and Aubrey Duffy (seven digs, a kill, an assist).

“Missing eight serves like we did tonight is tough to overcome,” Serena coach Jennifer Shugrue said. “It wasn’t just the misses, but it seemed like they happened at times where we had a chance to get or extend momentum.

“Putnam County had some really good servers, made some really smart offensive plays, and we had trouble finding openings in their defense. My girls played hard and played together, but we just didn’t play as well as we are capable.”

Serena is back in action on Tuesday in a Little Ten Conference match at Leland. Putnam County resumes play at Woodland in a Tri-County Conference match on Thursday.