Many different times, the Skaneateles girls volleyball team could have melted away in last Monday night’s battle with Westhill. But the Lakers refused to do so, and used that willpower to grind out a five-game victor over the Warriors to improve to 5-1 on the season. Prior to this match, Skaneateles had not played a five-game contest all year, while Westhill had just gone through one on Dec. 8, beating CBA. Right from the start, a long match seemed inevitable. The first game featured nine ties before Skaneateles, at 23-23, got the serve back and held on for a 25-23 win. In the second game, the Lakers led again, 18-17, only to see Westhill reel off eight unanswered points, prevail 25-18 and draw even. Skaneateles offered a hint of things ahead in the third game. Westhill was up, 24-20, but the Lakers saved four game points and even took a 25-24 lead before the Warriors made its own comeback and snatched it, 27-25. Down 2-1 now, the Lakers got in more trouble when it fell behind 12-8 in the fourth game. From that point forward, though, Skaneateles recovered in a big way, going from the brink to a 25-17 win by outscoring Westhill 17-5 the rest of the way. The fifth and final game saw an even battle much of the way, but at 15-15, Skaneateles broke clear with an 8-1 outburst and produced a 25-19 win to clinch the match. Anna Leiss earned 11 kills, while Alex Hughes and Krissy Ryan each had eight kills. Kelsey Bennett gained five kills and three aces. Brittany Bird backed up her 22 assists by getting five kills of her own. Westhill had its share of stars, too, as Jenna Martens gained 36 assists, Meghan Maloney produced 12 kills and Jenni Jerome earned 12 kills and seven aces.