NEW HOPE — The Caledonia High School volleyball team began to get a little nervous as rival New Hope mounted a furious fifth-set comeback in Tuesday’s season opener.

The Trojans cut a 14-9 Cavaliers lead to just 14-13. One more point, and they would force a tie and come just two points away from winning the Lowndes County rivalry match.

Still, despite the jitters, the visiting Cavs knew the path to victory.

“We knew if we could just get a good pass and a good set, it would be over, and we would definitely take the win,” junior setter Emily Clark said.

As it turned out, Caledonia didn’t even need one.

New Hope sailed a serve long, and the Cavaliers (1-0) took home the win over the Trojans (0-1) in a back-and-forth match. Set scores were 25-13, 17-25, 21-25, 25-14 and 15-13.

“It felt really good to start our season off with a kill, especially coming back from a really deep hole,” Clark said. “It just felt really good to come out strong like that.”

Caledonia dominated the fourth set, jumping out to a 19-4 lead, to even things up at two sets apiece. The Cavs then held the lead for much of the decisive fifth set to notch the victory.

It was a “momentum shift” after the host Trojans won the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match, New Hope coach Becky Hudgins said. Hudgins, a former assistant coach for the team, manned the squad Tuesday with head coach Allison Woolbright and her two daughters under COVID-19 quarantine.

Hudgins, whose daughter Micaela played her senior season last fall, said she was happy to assist when Woolbright contacted her Monday asking if she could help out for a couple weeks. She faced off with her close friend and former Mississippi University for Women teammate, Caledonia coach Samantha Brooks.

“I told her I love her even when I lose to her,” Hudgins said. “We love playing Caledonia. It’s just a great rivalry.”

But stepping in cold Tuesday wasn’t easy for Hudgins, and neither were the temporary absences of libero Kensley Woolbright and her sister, setter Annie Woolbright. A pair of young players, Molly Murphy and Marlee Davis, filled the two positions on the court.

“These girls, even though they got kind of thrown into the frying pan at the last minute, they’ve got experience, so they were able to step in and lead the team against a really good Caledonia team,” Hudgins said.

New Hope bounced back after Caledonia led throughout the first set to take an early lead. Sophomore Megan Neeb had an important kill to tie the second set at 13-all, and New Hope scored the next four points en route to evening the match. In the third set, junior Madyson McBrayer played a big role in putting the Trojans ahead, notching several key points in a 25-21 New Hope win.

But Caledonia won the first five points of the fourth set before Neeb put New Hope on the board, and the Trojans wouldn’t recover. The Cavs carried the momentum into the fifth set, taking an 11-8 lead and extending it to 14-9, on the verge of victory.

Neeb served her way to four straight New Hope points, but her fifth attempt missed the baseline by a few feet to clinch a hard-fought win for Caledonia. Still, Hudgins praised her team’s resilience.

“Even that fifth set, man, they came back and they fought right to the end,” she said.

But it was the Cavaliers who came up with a confidence-building victory. Clark said the win “hypes us up” for more strong opponents down the line, and she’s expecting a strong year from her team.

“I think this year is going to be one of our best seasons, especially with this group,” Clark said. “We’re all just really close and very bonded together, and I think we’re just going to work really well together this year.”

Hudgins, too, said Tuesday’s match will help New Hope prepare for its next several contests. “It’s a great experience, and they did really well,” she said. “I hate we couldn’t get the win, though.”

Even so, she said, the latest edition in the rivalry delivered once again.

“It’s never a three-and-done,” Hudgins said. “It’s always a battle.”

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.