FARMVILLE — Avenging last season’s 3-0 shutout at home to the eventual Eastern Plains champions, the Washington volleyball team was all smiles on the bus ride back from Farmville Central Tuesday evening.

The Pam Pack picked up a crucial and hard-earned 3-2 win in the conference opener, one that has head coach Kelly Slade and veteran lineup confident moving forward.

“Our goal is still to win the conference championship this year and it starts with the first game, which we won, so I’m definitely happy,” Slade said. “I knew that today would hinge on my seniors. If they showed up, played hard and played up to their potential that we would win and that’s exactly what they did. They really came out focused and were leaders on the court.”

The cliché in high school sports is to take conference play one game at a time. For the most part, the Pam Pack is sticking to that philosophy, but Slade and her team are not shy about regularly discussing their ultimate goal — secure their first Eastern Plains Conference championship.

Against a team that finished 20-4 last season, Slade went with a more defensive formation to start the contest, hoping to stunt the Jaguars’ customary, aggressive offensive attack. With sophomores Sara Lynch and Meghan Moore on the court, the Pam Pack and Jaguars went back-and-forth through in the first game, until ultimately Farmville Central locked up the win, 25-22.

Slade liked what she saw, but knew she needed to make a change, so she went with a slightly more offensive based rotation, consisting of Allison Brantley, Abby Walker, Alexis Brooks, Haley Hutchins, Adriana Tyson and Moore, a lineup stocked with five seniors. The change resulted in increased cohesiveness, communication and points, catching Farmville Central completely off guard.

Walker was able to rack up three aces, three kills and two blocks in the game, while Brantley recorded three assists en route to a commanding 25-9 win in the second game.

“(My seniors) are really working well together,” Slade said. “They have great chemistry and are able to communicate with each other, allowing us to achieve what we can achieve.”

The rout would continue in the third game. Tyson’s serve was proved was untouchable, the offensive-minded senior leader notching seven aces and two kills to add to her impressive season total. Brantley also recorded three aces and three kills in the set as well, giving Washington a 25-10 win.

The Jaguars clawed their way back into the match in the fourth game, matching the Pam Pack hitters shot-for-shot. Walker came through with a few crucial kills down the stretch to dampen the opponent’s rallies, but Famville Central pulled out a 28-26 win to force a game five.

Tyson and Walker put the team on their back and propelled the Pam Pack to an early lead in the set. Four kills from Tyson, two from Walker and a pair of aces from Moore locked up the match for Washington.

“Our confidence really showed today,” Slade said. “I know they were excited to get started in conference play. We feel the way that we should feel when we start conference — excited to play volleyball with a winning mentality. It took some nonconference craziness to get us here, but we’re here.”

After four-straight road games, Washington returns home today to face Southwest Edgecombe. The Cougars fell to North Pitt in their conference opener, but enter with a 5-3 record overall.