PINETOWN — The Lady Panthers opened up the 1-A state playoffs Saturday with a down-to-the-wire victory that went five games and featured a 27-kill performance.

The opener was a rollercoaster of emotions for head coach Kayla Maddox and the Panthers, whose two-game lead was erased after a spirited, energized comeback from Gates County. What initially appeared to be another dominating performance from the home team finished with Northside fighting to survive, in hopes of advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four years.

“We thought we would have them in three and then they rallied, but that’s playoff volleyball — you expect that,” Maddox said.

The Red Barons — a team that finished fifth in the Coastal Ten Conference with a 14-8 record — were carried by their dynamic middle hitter Kalia Ballard, who was the match leader in kills. Down five points in the third game and on the brink of elimination, Ballard exploited a seemingly overconfident Panthers team, her nine kills leading a comeback en route to a 25-23 win.

After giving her bench players some playing time, Maddox inserted her starting six back into the match to start the fourth game, but setter Abby Russell and Ballard continued to produce for the Red Barons.

“A lot of it came from my older girls and saying lets double block her (Ballard) — let’s shift our defense to the right because that’s where she’s hitting the ball. They were the ones who really stepped up and figured out what they needed to do to shut her down. We had to keep her honest.”

In the closest game of the afternoon, both teams exchanged hits, until senior hitter Alex Adams was eventually able to widen the gap to three points with a few well-placed kills. But once again, it was Ballard who led the Red Barons back from a deficit. Gates County closed the game out, 25-23, with three-straight kills from Erika Roberson, Russell and Ballard.

Prior to the fifth game, Maddox and Gates County head coach Jennifer Dean were animatedly and audibly trying to rally their teams through the final points.

Northside jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead after aces from sophomore Rachel Lang and junior Kendall Alligood and a demonstrative block from Adams, who also notched two kills in the final game. The Panthers widened the lead to three and consistent defense from senior Kelsey Lang and Ashley Paszt on the back line prevented Ballard from piecing together another comeback. Northside closed out the fifth game, 15-11, as Maddox garnered her first playoff win as head coach.

“This is a team that if they keep their heads in the game and stay a team, they can go farther than maybe even they expect to go,” Maddox said. “Defense is what won it for us, our offense wasn’t anything compared to what they had.”

Adams finished with 10 kills, two blocks and five aces, while Rachel Lang collected four aces, two blocks and a team-high 13 kills. At setter, Alligood recorded 18 assists and five aces.

For Gates County, Russell assisted 21 of Ballard’s 27 kills.

With the win, Northside improves to 13-6 and advances to Round 2 of the 1-A state playoffs set for Tuesday.