At the start of the season, the McClintock girls volleyball team had one goal: be the best in the region.

The Chargers got one step closer to that goal Monday night with a 3-1 win at home against the Sierra Linda Bulldogs.

McClintock (10-7) may be behind Sierra Linda (11-5) overall, but now at 8-2 in conference play, the Chargers remain ahead of the 7-4 Bulldogs in their quest to repeat as conference champions.

“Our team goal this year was to make it to region champs,” senior middle blocker Simone Haptonstall said. “But it looks like because of this game we might go even farther than our goal.”

Haptonstall was a key part of the victory, recording seven kills and seven blocks in the match, including an emphatic block to secure the 25th point of the first set and give the team and fans something to cheer about.

“It definitely brings up the morale,” Haptonstall said. “I think a lot of people will get super excited and hyped when I do things like that, and they get super excited to keep playing.”

The Chargers then dropped the second set but were not phased, as they proceeded to dominate the third set 25-15.

“One thing I knew for dang sure about this team ever since the very beginning, before the season even started, is that this team fights,” head coach Jacob Laikona said. “They don’t give up. They may get on themselves a little bit more than they need to, but they continue fighting.”

The fourth set was the closest, going back and forth until the Chargers found themselves behind 23-19. After fighting some more, they were down 24-22 with freshman Rachel Reddie set to serve the points that would decide the match. Reddie, however, was unfazed by the pressure of the situation.

“I don’t look at the score,” Reddie said. “I just take deep breaths and just say, ‘It’s not the end, we still have a chance.’”

Reddie delivered as the Chargers took the next four points to secure the victory. Even though they would have still had the chance to win in a fifth set, McClintock fought to the bitter end to take it in four.

“There’s many games all season long where we’ll start behind and end up finishing, winning out those sets or even when it gets close to the end like this,” Laikona said. “Where most teams will give up, they continue fighting and they push to win the game.”

It was no surprise to Haptonstall that the moment was not too big for Reddie. As a senior, she’s been able to see the younger members of the team grow and flourish all season into strong volleyball players.

"I’m really proud from where they’ve grown from the beginning,” Haptonstall said. “I’m very proud to have them on my team because they’re super high energy and super supportive.”

The win keeps the Chargers in second place in conference play, setting them up nicely to complete their mission.

“It’s a very important game towards (the) region championship and also the playoffs,” Laikona said. “Knowing that they’re seeded much higher than we are, it feels great.”

The Chargers will take the next step on that mission Tuesday, when they take on South Mountain, the team with the best record in the conference.

“Bottom line is I knew these girls could do it,” Laikona said. “Being able to take care of this, it’s a huge accomplishment this season. Now the next thing we’ve got to do is focus on tomorrow’s game.”