No matter how hard you fight, it’s hard to overcome missing leadership.

The Crook County volleyball team, without standouts Toni Corwin and Kimber Duncan, clawed its way to a five-game Intermountain Conference match at Mountain View on Tuesday night, but the senior-led Cougars won 18-25, 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 15-10.

The win puts Mountain View (9-2 IMC) alone in second place and in prime position to earn a Class 4A state playoff berth.

The Cowgirls (8-3 IMC) lost Corwin to a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in last Thursday’s match with Redmond, and Duncan broke two bones in her arm in a match the week before. Crook County called up four players from junior varsity for Tuesday’s match, but the Cougars’ six seniors were just a little too much for them on Senior Night at Mountain View.

It was a back-and-forth, emotional match, with both teams vying for second place.

”It was incredible,” said Cougar senior Sarah Boone, who finished with 13 kills. ”That was the most intense game I’ve ever played in. Our focus was on unity, and it took everybody on our team.”

Senior Ahlee Thomas led the Cougs with 17 kills, and Richelle Millsap provided 13 kills. Angela Coyle had 12 kills and was 15 of 15 serving for Mountain View. Senior Kristen Diehl set up her teammates with 45 assists, and senior Morgan Defoe served three aces.

”Both teams were very competitive, and very fired up,” said Mountain View coach Jill Waskom. ”Crook County played extremely well. They just really picked it up and fought really hard.”

Nicole Kludt, the lone senior for the Cowgirls – was an absolute force, thundering an incredible 25 kills and getting four blocks. Chelsea Reeher had 13 kills and five blocks, and Rhea Wortman recorded nine kills and three aces for Crook County.

”I’m so proud of my girls,” said Cowgirls coach Rosie Honl. ”I can’t say enough for the young kids that stepped up. They just played their hearts out.”

The Cowgirls looked strong from the start, winning the first game convincingly, 25-18. But the Cougars bounced right back to win the next two, and they had plenty of chances to put the match away in four games.

Late in the fourth game, Mountain View kept coming back within one point and finally managed to tie it 23-23 on a block from senior Kristin Downs. But Crook County scored the next two points on a Cougar net violation and an ace from Jamie Harvey, sending it to the fifth and deciding game.

The Cougs raced to an 8-4 start in the final game on a kill from Millsap. The Cowgirls snuck back to within two points, making the score 11-9 on a Mountain View net violation. But the Cougars won four of the next five points, and the match ended on a kill from Coyle.

”We got a competitive fire back in us that we had some letting go of,” Waskom said. ”The seniors were fired up to finish on their home court.”

The Cougars will host Pendleton and Hermiston on Saturday and are not out of the running for the IMC title. First-place Pendleton (9-0) will be a challenge, though.

”If we play at our level it’ll be a good match,” Waskom said. ”We’re trying to get to a higher level for the playoffs.”