The top teams in the NWAC West, Highline and Lower Columbia, dueled it out in a five-set showdown, but the Lady T-Birds came up short. 

The Highline women’s volleyball team were defeated by the Red Devils 19-25, 18-25, 25-21, 28-26, and 15-8.

Prior to the loss, Highline had won seven consecutive conference games and only dropped two sets.

The Lady T-Birds came out hot, winning the first two sets, 25-19, and 25-18. Weathering the storm, Lower Columbia stayed resilient and took the third set 25-21 and fourth 28-26. The Red Devil comeback forced a fifth set and Highline ran out of gas with a box score of 15-8.

With Highline’s first conference loss, they now rank second in the West division with 7-1 and 17-4 overall. Due to last week’s bye on Wednesday, Highline stands behind 8-1 Lower Columbia.

This week, the Lady T-Birds have two away games against teams fighting for the fourth playoff spot in the NWAC West.

Only the top four teams from each division (north, south, east, and west) compete in the NWAC postseason tournament.

On Wednesday, Highline challenged fifth-ranked South Puget Sound on their sophomore night. Results were unavailable at press time.

“The nerves definitely get to you knowing it’s the championship and with it being my last ever toOn Friday, the Lady T-Birds go up against fourth-ranked Tacoma at 7 p.m.