STRONGSVILLE — On Halloween, Wellsville’s talent-laden volleyball team got a scare from upset-minded Cardinal, but in the end, it was only appropriate the team clad in Orange and Black would prevail.

The tradition-rich Tigers punched their ticket to the regional final for the second time in three years after outlasting Cardinal in a five-set 3-2 decision in a D4 regional semi at Strongsville High School Thursday evening.

“They definitely wanted it,” said Wellsville coach Sherry Allen of the fifth-set win. “We talked about the mental part of the game, which is what it started to be, so in that last huddle the girls said we’ve got to lock it’s time to focus and get it done, and they did.”

After leading 2-1, the Tigers watched the Huskies rally back to tie the sets at 2-2 and force a deciding and tension-filled fifth set.

The fifth set was tied at seven times, the last being at 8-8 before the veteran Tigers took command, outscoring the Huskies 7-1 as Tiger senior Olivia Edison served the last five points.

The Tigers were led by senior standouts Presley Stokes (25 kills, three aces, 16 digs) and Bella Poppelriter (17 kills, six aces, 23 assists, 19 digs).

“Those two together, Presley and Bella, they’re best friends off the court, so that helps and they can get things settled back down (for the team on the court),” said Allen. “And Olivia Edison with the last five points, oh my goodness, she saved us.

“I think the seniors kind of stepped up for me,” said Allen. “They kept their calm and we talked about that going in for the freshman that haven’t been here before, we have to keep them calm.”

“We just knew we had to go and couldn’t play around,” said Stokes of the deciding fifth set. “They’re (the Huskies) are a good team and they hustle and we just had to get it done. I just told them, especially the seniors (in the huddle), the thing is, this is our last chance and we have to do it and the underclassmen really fought for us and made it happen.”

The Tigers’ other stat leaders included Myleigh Jackson 17 digs, four aces) and Olivia Edison (nine digs).

The win vaults the 25th-ranked Tigers (21-5) into Saturday’s regional title match against 10th-ranked Norwalk St. Paul (19-7) at 2 p.m. at Strongsville. The winner advances to next week’s state tournament at Wright State University in Dayton.

St. Paul (19-7) earned its spot in the regional final with a 3-0 sweep of formerly unbeaten and 11th-ranked Ashtabula St. John (now 25-1) in the first half of Thursday’s regional twin bill.

“For Saturday, we’re never been more ready than we are now,” said Allen. “I think the seniors in the four years leading up to this, we’ve always gotten right there and couldn’t make it through, but their attitudes have all changed and I can just see them mentally locked in.”

“We’ve been here before but the next game is where we normally get knocked out, so we’re really hoping to make it farther,” said Stokes.

Wellsville’s only losses this season were to Columbiana twice, Union Local twice and Caldwell.

In the first set Thursday, Wellsville’s Stokes had six kills as the Tigers took as much as an eight-point lead on two occasions at 20-12 and at set’s end, 25-17. The Tigers went on a 6-0 run at one point when Jackson was serving.

In the second set, the Tigers fell behind by as many as six points (19-13) but battled back to within two points (20-18) with Poppelriter serving but the Huskies out-scored the Tigers 5-3 the remainder of the set to win, 25-21. Stokes had five kills in the set for the Tigers.

In the third set, the Tigers took the lead for good at 5-4 and went on to take an eight-point advantage (23-15) on a block by Tiger Maddie Drysdale and as much as nine-point lead (24-15) as Stokes served three straight points. The Tigers went on to win 25-17. Stokes had five more kills in the set.

In a hotly-contested fourth set, the score was tied nine times, the last at 21-21 before the Huskies out-pointed the Tigers 4-1 to win the set 25-22 and set up a deciding fifth set and eventual Tiger win.

Allen knows her team is ready for Saturday’s regional championship match.

“We’ve been to this game, the next game is always our stopping point, but not this year — not this year,” she said.