RALEIGH - There's a comfort level among the seniors on Panther Creek's volleyball team when several of them are on the court at the same time. They've experienced the bad -- a 6-16 record their freshman year -- and the good -- a 25-15 record over the past two seasons with the school's first two playoff appearances. Nothing gets to them.

The Catamounts were in a bind in the second game of its conference opener, trailing 21-15 to Athens Drive. But Panther Creek didn't panic -- the seniors had things under control.

It started with senior Hannah Cruikshank, who laid out for a one-armed diving dig for an incoming serve to keep the play alive. An eventual Jaguars error gave Panther Creek the point -- and it was all the Catamounts' seniors needed.

Panther Creek rattled off the final 10 consecutive points to cap off an improbable second-game win, then kept momentum to close out Athens Drive in three games on Thursday night, 25-19, 25-21, 25-10. Athens (0-1, 0-1) has just two seniors on its roster, and the difference in poise showed.

"They regrouped and came back," Panther Creek coach Bonnie O'Connor said. "This game is crazy. You get one great dig, and it changes the momentum that quick."

The Catamounts (1-1, 1-0) were hardest to score on when seniors Lauren Webb, Jasmine Aquinaldo and Emily Hendricks were all at the net at the same time.

"That's our favorite rotation," Webb said. "We all bring the same sort of intensity and we are so familiar with each other and playing next to each other that it's so exciting. We know what we're capable of so we try to hold each other to a high standard."

Aquinaldo took out the Jaguars' middle blocker, while Webb helped set up Hendricks for her game-high 11 kills.

"We're so close on and off the court, it helps our team chemistry," Aquinaldo said. "We try to pull each other up, so it makes each of us better when we're surrounded by each other."

Being cool under pressure is a good quality to have in most teams, but O'Connor worries if her team takes it to the extreme. Panther Creek dropped its season opener to Leesville Road and appeared sluggish at times in its first two games in the match at Athens Drive.

"I have the nicest bunch of girls, and biggest complaint is that sometimes they're too nice," O'Connor said. "In real life, in the big picture, they're going to do really well no matter what they do because they get over things. But I want them to step up and realize how good they are."

Athens was led by junior Megan Westberg in kills (seven) and aces by sophomore Rachel Kinsey (four).

Panther Creek sophomore Katherine Kruse posted a match-high nine aces. Junior Lauren Tuttle had a team-high five blocks for the Catamounts.