If exciting high school volleyball is what you were wanting to see, then A.J. Sellet Gymnasium in La Salle is the place you wanted to be Tuesday.

Class 3A No. 7-ranked 3A La Salle-Peru and Sycamore battled nearly point for point throughout three wild sets before the Cavaliers came away with a 25-18, 23-25, 25-23 Interstate 8 Conference victory.

All night long, the Cavs and Spartans took monster shots at each other and made amazing digs that kept the play going even longer.

The deciding third set started off with a kill from Sycamore’s Madilyn Patton, but then the Spartans committed a service error.

Aubrey Duttlinger and Kelsey Frederick teamed up for a block to briefly give the Cavs a 2-1 edge.

With Sycamore leading 5-3, L-P got a big kill from Frederick and then another block from Maggie Boudreau and Drew Depenbrock to once again tie the game.

“Blocking is one of our strengths this year, “ L-P coach Mark Haberkorn said. “Against a big hitting team like this that turned out to be a key for us tonight.”

The hits kept coming from both sides with Khiara Thomas doing a big part of the damage for the Spartans. Her kill that went off two L-P defenders gave Sycamore a 7-6 lead.

But as it did all night long, L-P had an answer with Duttlinger getting a tip shot off the Sycamore defenders to tie the game again.

Thomas and Sophia Lichthardt were among the many for the Spartans who kept the points alive with big digs, but a Duttlinger’s kill and a Lichthardt shot sailed into the net to give the Cavs a 14-12 edge.

But a service error by L-P and then an ace from Lana Walker to go along with a shot into the corner from Ava Wente-Argo pushed the Spartans back in front 15-14.

The game got even more intense as Thomas and coach Jennifer Charles received yellow cards, but after all that, a block attempt from the Cavs went wide and Sycamore looked to close out the match as it took a 20-18 lead.

The Cavs, however, didn’t flinch as Frederick knocked a shot off the Sycamore defenders and then a Thomas attempt sailed wide to tie the game at 20.

With the game tied at 21, Patton’s shot went long and then Duttlinger hit a monster kill to go ahead 23-21.

Lillian Jones got a kill to cut the deficit to one, but a big stuff at the net from Duttlinger pushed the Cavs ahead 24-22.

A over the head attempt to keep the game alive from Sophia Martinez went long to give L-P the final set 25-23.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way our girls battled tonight despite the adversity from the officiating,” Charles said. “Khiara Thomas has been working hard this offseason and really wanted to come out and show what she can do.”

In the opening set, the teams went point for point and were tied at 13. Duttlinger got a kill and Boudreau did as well off a beautiful set.

Duttlinger’s ace gave the Cavs a 16-13 lead that forced a Sycamore timeout. After the timeout, back-to-back errors by the Spartans extended the L-P lead to 18-13.

Back-to-back shots sailed long for Lichthardt to give the Cavs an 8-0 run and a 21-13 lead. After another timeout, the Spartans were able to end the drought.

The Cavs got two big hits from Frederick that closed out the opening set 25-18 for the Cavs.

For the majority of the second set, the teams went back and forth with great defense and big shots as the game was tied at 11.

Thomas then served an ace and Lichthardt got a kill after a big dig from Thomas. It was Lichthardt again putting the pressure on the L-P defense with another ace for a 14-11 advantage.

Three straight errors from the Cavs gave the Spartans a 17-13 lead. With Sycamore leading 18-16, Thomas hit a power shot down the line.

L-P continued to fight hoping to end the match in two sets as Frederick got another kill off a great set from Emma Jereb as the Cavs cut the deficit to 19-18.

Patton picked up a block at the net and then L-P was whistled for four hits that ended the second set 25-23.

For the Cavs (19-1, 2-0 I-8), Frederick and Karmen Piano led with 12 digs each, while Anna Riva added 11. Duttlinger had 12 kills and Frederick added 11 to go along with four blocks each from Boudreau and Duttlinger. Jereb led with 17 assists while Frederick had 12 points as did Piano while Riva had 11.

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(Top) L-P's Aubrey Duttlinger celebrates with teammates (bottom from left) Drew Depenbrock, Aubrey Urbanski and Maggie Boudreau after scoring a point against Sycamore on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)