DEVILS LAKE — When Devils Lake dropped a 29-27 fourth set, it brought the Firebirds back to an all-too-familiar place.

A fifth set.

They entered Tuesday’s match against Rugby having dropped five straight matches, all in region play. Three of the last four were five-set losses.

Entering another tiebreaker at the Devils Lake Sports Center, head coach Bridget Hanlan’s message to her team was simple.

“It was finally to play to win, and not play to not lose,” Hanlan said. “To finally just keep being aggressive on offense.”

The Firebirds dropped a pair of extremely tight sets, 25-23 and 29-27. They won two dominant sets, 25-8 and 25-10. But each set counted the same in the win column. Devils Lake had to take care of business in the fifth set to come away with a victory.

And the Firebirds d

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