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There are make-or-break moments in every sporting event.

Tuesday, up 2 game to 1, but trailing 18-13 in the fourth game, the Redding Christian High School volleyball team had one of those moments.

It wasn't a majestic moment. Instead, the Lions found their balance when U-Prep's Sofia Prokop miss hit a ball after a feverish back-and-forth rally.

"At one point I was going to call a timeout, but I looked to my captains (Jessica Livingston and Jessica Peer) and gave them the ‘Hey, let's play like we know how' look," Lions coach Danielle Nance said. "We just needed a moment to come together."

Still down 18-14, Redding Christian chipped away in the fourth game and came away with a 25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22 win on Tuesday.

"Our weakness has been playing consistently for 25 points," Panthers' coach Rochelle Angley said. "We needed to take over in that situation."

Instead, Redding Christian got to within 19-18 before Sofia Prokop ran off a five straight service points to give the Lions a 22-20 lead. A hitting error gave the serve back to U-Prep where a Molly Huegel kill and Alyssa Golenor ace knotted the game at 22.

"We're a young team and are still learning to come up and stay up," Livingston said. "There are times when we need to stop, re-evaluate and get back to basics."

And Livingston, the Lions' senior floor general, calmly found a winner, dinking a shot to a soft spot in the Panthers' defense before Shae Luff brought home the win with a kill to get to game point and a block to ice the match.

Livingston finished with 21 assists. Peer had 10 kills and Shayanne Schulz added eight kills. Elyse Abersold had 15 service points.

The Panthers' Prokop had 10 assists, four kills and two blocks. U-Prep's Shelley Laya added five kills, five blocks and three aces, while Kim Vincelli chipped in five assists, two kills and three blocks.

The Lions opened the match with a 25-20 Game 1win, closed out with a Livingston-set and a Luff kill.

In the second game, the Lions and Panthers jockeyed for position — at one point it was knotted at 13 — before U-Prep went one a 10-4 run to tie the match at 1.

Six Redding Christian errors in that span — combined with U-Prep's two aces and three kills — made the game a runaway. The Panthers' finished off the game with a Huegel block of Peer.

In the third game, neither team seemed comfortable grabbing the momentum and the reins to the match.

The Lions jumped ahead 17-13, but slowly let the Panthers back in with six errors over the games final 15 points. The Panthers, however, were having their own problems with errors, committing two service errors in the final three points.

"They're a good squad," Angley said. "But this really came down to who made the fewest mistakes."

Down 24-22, Prokop sailed a served wide giving the Lions a game point. But Luff would double hit the ball, giving U-Prep a sideout and a chance to send extend the game. Lauren Stoll's serve sailed out, handing the Lions a 2-1 edge and the momentum.

"There are times when you need to look and say we need to fight or this might go five," Livingston said.

Sports Editor Aaron Williams can be reached at 225-8229 or awilliams@redding.com.