In a nail-biting, gritty matchup, the Cosumnes River College volleyball team pulled off a win against the Modesto Junior College Pirates 3-2 on Wednesday.

The game was an up-hill battle for the Hawks who saw themselves constantly behind on the scoresheet.

The Hawks ended the game with 35 errors, their season’s highest, as opposed to Modesto who committed 17.

“We gave them a lot of points and they didn’t really give us a lot back,” said head coach Kari Nahlen. “Even though we didn’t play our best, we were still able to make it happen.”

CRC faced a slow start losing the first set 25-11, a scoreline Modesto replicated in the third set.

“At the beginning we were very shaken up as seen by the first set,” said freshman outside hitter Paityn Snow. “Once we started relying on each other as a team, it really got better.”

Nahlen said Modesto served tough, causing problems for her team.

“We did not do well at serve-receiving and it made it really hard for our hitters to hit,” Nahlen said.

The second and fourth sets were tight wins for the Hawks finishing 22-25 and 16-25, respectively. The set-winning points were scored by Snow, whose performance was highlighted by Nahlen.

“She was hitting where they weren’t. That’s what we practiced and it finally clicked in that fourth and fifth set,” Nahlen said. “That’s exactly what we needed from her.”

Snow ended the night with 23 kills, the game’s highest.

The last set did not start as the Hawks hoped for as they saw themselves down 13-8. From there however, the hawks mounted a comeback, winning the game 16-18 thanks to an attacking error from the Pirates.

“We’re definitely mentally tough when it comes to fifth sets. We don’t give up,” Snow said.

Mental fortitude is also something freshman middle blocker Lauren Stutes said was a strength of the team.

“Through it all we fight to the end, play by play, point by point,” Stutes said.

Half-way through their conference matches, the Hawks held a record of six wins and two losses, which has now changed to three due to Friday’s 3-0 loss away to Sacramento City College.

“As long as we still keep improving, I think we can go really far in the playoffs,” Nahlen said. “It’s just making sure that we have the right mindset, know who we’re playing and getting the strategy down.”

Next up for the Hawks is a 6 p.m. home game against the American River Beavers on Wednesday.