The Downers Grove South volleyball team’s 26-24, 25-21 win over Neuqua Valley on Monday may have looked scarily close for a 5-0 team with state title aspirations, but there was no sign of worry during or after the match.

“Neuqua is always a very good team,” Downers South coach Colleen Reagan said. “They’re aggressive and they fight so I wasn’t surprised they pushed us. And I’m glad they pushed us. It’s nice to be tested.

“Down the stretch it was a matter of who would hang in there the longest, and I was proud of our kids that we were able to do that.”

Reagan wasn’t so enthused during an amazingly close first game that never featured a lead bigger than two points by either team. The Mustangs were on the verge of defeat down 24-23 before two straight kills by Courtney Gosewisch and a kill for game point by Jessica McNellis (set up by a nice serve from Marielle Oestermeyer) finally decided the nailbiter.

“I felt like in Game 1 we were going through the motions, and that’s not the way we play volleyball here at Downers South,” said Reagan, whose team was coming off a 25-11, 25-13 win at Downers North five days earlier. “We said, ‘Let’s get back to Mustang volleyball, play at our pace.’”

Downers South answered the call by jumping to a 9-3 lead in Game 2, highlighted by six straight serves by Christine Bowe. But with the Mustangs up 17-9, Neuqua Valley again showed its fight by clawing back to within 20-17.

That’s when Katherine Gosewisch entered the spotlight, as the senior’s three kills in the match included putaways for points 21 and 22. Then with the score 24-21, Bowe served an ace for match point.

“You don’t want to lose in your gym,” Bowe said of the Mustangs’ strong finishes in each game. “Tonight was a little rough on the edges, but we’ll get it together for our tournament this weekend (at Wheaton North). And being 5-0 is great. Everyone’s getting along so well playing as a team.”