WARSAW — Getting up for River View has never been a problem for Coshocton's volleyball team. Staying composed, though, has been another matter.

Both elements came together on Tuesday night.

Visiting Coshocton faced a pair of early deficits in its Muskingum Valley League crossover with their chief rivals at Luther Stover Gymnasium, but one of its best all-around efforts of the season wouldn't be denied in a 27-25, 25-20, 25-14 win on Volley For the Cure Night.

Coshocton faced substantial deficits in each of the first two sets before dominating the third, as senior outside hitter Lindsey Bryant was a force at her outside hitter spot with 13 kills. She had help, as defensive whiz Miyah Davis had a team-high 25 digs — many of the acrobatic type — that kept several rallies alive.

Coupled with the setting of veteran Jalynn West, who Coshocton coach Cari Bahmer said kept the Lady Bears guessing, the visitors effectively kept their momentum train on track, despite the substantial adversity.

"We talk so much about playing with emotion — I think that's huge," Coshocton coach Cari Bahmer said. "A lot of times the team with emotion will come back. We were down in both sets, at one time 10 points in Set 1. Our slogan has always been 'never settle.' These girls have done that all season long. They've battled and battled. I couldn't be more proud."

River View extended an 11-10 lead to 19-10 in the first set, forcing Redskins coach Cari Bahmer to call a pair of timeouts to rally her troops. They responded behind Davis, who served up nine straight points to tie the match, and it was still tied at 24 before back-to-back kills clinched the set in Coshocton's favor.

"Credit to them, they came right at us in that first set but we kept battling," Bahmer said. "We called two timeouts and all I said was 'be calm,' and I am not calm. For them to see me be calm, I think it helps them be calm. I'm emotional, and to come back here and play is emotional for me."

River View jumped ahead again, 6-1, in the second set as outside hitter Kayla Dulgar and setter Cayla Shrimplin bounced back off the mat early. Not to be outdone, Coshocton responded by scoring 10 of the next 15 points, then eventually took a 16-15 lead.

A cross-court kill off an outside attack from Bryant sent Coshocton ahead, 21-19, and triggered a timeout from River View coach Rose Olinger. Coshocton took the next point, then scored three of the next four to seal the set.

There was no such drama in the third, as Coshocton's fast start led to an early lead it wouldn't relinquish. River View's offense never got tracked after its late struggles in the second set.

"We really had faith in our defense," Olinger said. "Our offense started struggling there and we were just inconsistent. We didn't execute the things we needed to."

Five Coshocton players had least three kills, as Bryant's big night was supported by Kenedi Jackson's nine kills, four from Saige Abbott and three from Addy Gordon and Lacey Guthrie. Davis' serving got help from Abbott, who added three aces.

The front row play at the net against River View's towering duo of Aivia Spaulding and Haley Balo and Dulgar's ferocious outside attacks proved critical, Bahmer said. In this instance, it meant attacking down the lines, rather across the middle into the teeth of the Lady Bear defense, and an undersized middle playing bigger than their heights indicated.

"We talked a lot about getting them out of system," Bahmer said. "If Brittany (Henderson) couldn't get the ball, they couldn't get the ball to Cayla. We've practiced a lot these last few weeks at taking the setter out of the game, because that is what they feed off of. Their hitters are good and strong, and they're well coached. But we persevered."

Coshocton improved to 8-4 overall and 6-3 in MVL play. River View (9-5), with plenty of hard-fought matches already on its resume, slipped to 5-4 in league play. It continued a stretch of competitive league games, where three teams in the Big School and Small School divisions sport winning records.

Two of Coshocton's losses came to state-ranked Meadowbrook and a New Lexington team enjoying its best season in several years. River View has already beaten Tri-Valley, whose only Big School loss came at Sheridan, who leads the division. The Lady Bears will play both again down the stretch.

"Meadowbrook is just a force," Olinger said. "The MVL is just so strong. If you look at our Division II regional last year, and right now Hartley is No. 1 in our region. We're 14 games in now and we've got strong matches coming up. If we're not consistent ... We've got what we need, we just need to put it all together."

Davis said the team always finds an extra gear when it comes to playing River View, its neighboring rivals just a few miles north with an extensive history of winning in volleyball. That they can stand nose-to-nose with them this season only adds to the emotion surrounding the matchups.

Coshocton's improvement has not come without plenty of sweat in the offseason.

"All of us play year around, busting our tails for moments like this," Davis said. "It fuels my fire."

Despite the loss, River View was thrilled with the outpouring of support from fans who attended and bought raffle tickets to raise money for awareness.

River View players and coaches sported pink T-shirts, rather than their usual jerseys, while Coshocton's wore white. Each River View player had signs made, proclaiming the person for whom they were representing.

"I love the support," Dulgar said. "This community is great when it comes to county rivals and supporting this amazing cause."

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR