CENTRAL POINT — For a Crater team that has already played its 14th volleyball game this year, the Comets certainly feel that they are clicking at the right time after winning Game 14 on Thursday night at Crater High School.

Having played this many games this early in the season isn’t considered detrimental by team captain Taylee Wilson.

“I think that constantly being in that flow keeps us in that flow,” Wilson said about the advantages of a packed schedule. “And I feel like the long breaks are just tiring. It’s more tiring to have long breaks.”

During Thursday’s Midwestern League matchup against Churchill, the senior setter looked anything but tired by recording 22 assists and chipping in six digs and five kills in a four-set victory.

“She’s a great captain, she’s been leading these girls through and through,” said first-year Crater head coach Tiffany Booth of Wilson. “She’s been a great help for me coming on as the new head coach this summer. She’s really stepped into that role and she really wants to command the court.”

That leadership was seen early for the Comets with two dominant wins of 25-14 and 25-15, respectively, to start the match.

However, Crater (11-3, 4-1 MWL) struggled in the third set, falling 25-21, and only held a 2-1 lead before Churchill (4-4, 2-2) forced a fourth set.

“They weren’t coming together as a team,” said Booth about the third set. “We beat them in both those first two sets, so it just looked like in that third one, they just kind of let off the gas a little bit.”

Junior Alexa Gugliotta was the one who stepped up and put her foot on the pedal to get her team out of this funk versus Churchill in a gritty fourth set that included eight ties and seven lead changes.

Gugliotta had two key kills in the fourth with a game-tying spike to make it 10-all. She continued to push her team to take the lead at 12-11 which was the Comets’ first lead since 3-2 in the set.

This type of momentum-shifting play isn’t new for Gugliotta, with her explosiveness making her a threat to spike it on the defense at any time.

“She comes out and I think she really fires up the team when she’s out there,” Booth said about her middle blocker. “And then she’s really good at finding all the holes on the court, so she will demand the set.”

Gugliotta credited Wilson for putting her in a position to score throughout the night.

“She always tries to understand what she did wrong or how she can improve your sets,” Gugliotta said about Wilson. “But, honestly, she knows me as a hitter. She can get the sets where I need them.”

“She’s just an amazing setter and she helps me,” she added. “She’s literally why I’m so good. Her sets are just amazing.”

With Gugliotta and Wilson igniting the offense, Crater’s defense solidified and held on to help cushion a narrow lead.

Danica Huntoon and Joslyhn Pope shored up this stingy defense for the Comets. Huntoon protected the net with five blocks to go along with an impressive six aces. Pope held down the backside of the court with 24 digs and added two aces.

“Our defense has improved so much,” said Gugliotta. “We’ve worked on our blocking and our defense so it’s just how we can put that into the game is amazing.”

With the team coming together, Gugliotta sealed the final set at 25-19 with her lone ace of the night to go along with her 10 kills and block.

Despite letting Churchill win a set, Gugliotta said that adversity in the third set only serves to bolster the team-building Crater has been experiencing during an already deep season.

“Those 14 games, which usually a lot of teams don’t get the chance to play 14 games, it just helps us improve as a team,” she said. “Knowing what we can do this (schedule) as a team and see how strong we can be and how the connections grow has been amazing.”