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Late in the fourth game of Monday's 4A South Region quarterfinal volleyball match, High Point High School senior Kristina Murphy told her teammates it was time to dig down deep.

The Eagles trailed visiting Laurel, 24-22, and were facing the prospect of being forced into a tie-breaking fifth game for the third time in as many meetings with the Spartans this season.

High Point responded by returning a Casey LiCausi serve back across the net for a side out. The Eagles then handed the ball to Jordan Blue, who ended the match with three consecutive aces. After splitting the first two meetings, High Point won the one that counted most, beating the Spartans, 25-14, 19-25, 25-8 and 26-24 to advance to the 4A South Region semifinals.

"For us, it all comes down to communicating on the floor," said Murphy. "When we talk to one another on the floor, we can beat anybody. But when we don't communicate, we really struggle. I think that was the difference. We really talked to one another and kept each other motivated. We were able to dig down deep and find a way to win that fourth game."

High Point (9-4) was scheduled to face top-seeded Bowie (14-0) in the semifinals on Wednesday after The Gazette went to press. Bowie needed four games to defeat visiting Oxon Hill (7-7) on Monday. The Bulldogs won the match 25-12, 23-25, 25-13 and 25-8, with the lone blemish occurring in the second game. It marked the first time all season that the Bulldogs have lost a game.

"We had 13 hitting errors in that one game," said Bowie coach Eric LeMaster. "But maybe it was good for our girls. They have to be ready every game. Every team we play is going to be gunning for us. I thought they bounced back from that game and played well the last two."

Laurel (11-6) swept Suitland on Friday in an opening-round match to earn the chance to face High Point for the third time this season. In a rare statistical oddity, the team that won the previous two five-game matches between Laurel and High Point scored fewer points over the course of the match. But in the rubber match on Monday, High Point needed only four games to eliminate Laurel and easily won the overall points battle, 95-71.

"I'm really proud of my girls," said Laurel coach Taren Gray. "I could tell they were disappointed. But they didn't do a good job of talking to one another on the floor. I only lose two seniors [Marche Pearson and Alejandra Sanchez], and I get all of my other girls back. But I'm proud of all my girls this year – they did better than I could have expected."

Service runs from Murphy and Blue helped the Eagles close out the first game on an 11-1 run, but that momentum didn't carry over to the second game. Laurel jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the second game behind Arielle Lima, only to watch Blue bring the Eagles back to within 14-12. Pearson gave the Spartans a cushion at 20-13, and the teams traded side outs before the second game ended on a Murphy service error.

High Point started the third game with a 6-0 run from Chika Ugogi and opened a commanding 18-6 advantage behind seven winners and five aces from Murphy. Laurel never got close, and Ugogi ended the second game with four consecutive service winners. Neither team owned anything more than a four-point lead in the fourth game. Laurel reached game point first at 24-22 before the Eagles rallied for the 26-24 win to seal the match.

Elsewhere in the 4A South Region tournament, second-seeded Eleanor Roosevelt swept three games from Henry A. Wise. The Raiders will taken on Charles H. Flowers in a regional semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Roosevelt. The third-seeded Jaguars advanced by beating Parkdale, 3 games to 1.

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.