Entering Thursday’s volleyball match at C. Milton Wright, Bel Air had lost exactly one set all year. After the match, you can make that four sets.

In a match that had a little bit of everything, the host Mustangs dominated at the net and came up big when it counted to beat Bel Air, 25-17, 11-25, 26-24, 25-21, in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference match. The loss was the No. 11 Bobcats’ first of the year.

Anna Mioduski had 18 kills to lead the Mustangs (11-3), while Jenna Ritz had 28 assists. Anna Kane led Bel Air (13-1) with 14 kills.

The evening began with the mother of Bel Air coach Dave Simon falling in the gym. When she received medical attention and left with EMT’s, Simon left also and turned the coaching duties over to assistant Chris Couch.

“We had a few things to overcome, and I hope Dave and his mom are OK,” Couch said. “C. Milton had a great crowd and a great attack tonight. A game like this is a lot about desire, and they just had more of it than we did tonight.”

“This is a big win for us,” CMW coach Dave Naugle said. “Just great play at the net tonight. They were loose and they were focused. Just a really good job with blocking and attacking.”

The Mustangs let Bel Air know right from the start that if their undefeated run was to continue, it wouldn’t be easy. With the first set tied at 7, the Mustangs used the serving of Addison Bradley to go on a 7-0 serving run to make the lead 14-7. Bradley had two aces during that streak. After the Bobcats narrowed the lead to 15-9, Wright used two kills by Mioduski in a 4-1 run to make the score 19-10. Bel Air never seriously threatened after that and the Mustangs recorded a 25-17 win to take the first set.

If the win gave Wright confidence, Bel Air took it away pretty quickly. The Bobcats jumped out to an 8-1 lead behind Kane’s serving in the second set. They eventually ran the lead to 11-3 and looked like the undefeated team they were entering the match. The Bobcats cruised to a 25-11 win in the set and tied the match at one set apiece.

The best set of the match was the third. After Wright jumped out to 9-2 lead, Bel Air gradually started to cut the margin. The Bobcats used a Kane kill to tie the set at 23. A service error by Bel Air gave Wright a 24-23 lead, but Bel Air used an Aubrey Faulkner kill to tie it back up at 24. After that, the Mustangs got two kills by Grace Boseck to take the set, 26-24.

Bel Air looked a little rattled in the final set but managed to keep it close. The Bobcats led 18-16, but Wright embarked on a five-point scoring run to make the score 21-18 and cause Couch to call time out. Bel Air eventually cut the margin to 22-21 on a Wright service error, but the Mustangs went on a 3-0 run to end the match and set off a wild celebration.

Mioduski said the win will help the Bobcats as they approach the playoffs.

“Honestly, I think this will help us to have confidence and to play better in the playoffs, especially since Bel Air had lost only one set before this,” Mioduski said. “They’re our rival, and this will be a great start for us going forward.”.