SULPHUR — Barbe missed several opportunities to close out a marathon first set Wednesday but rallied to win the next three to take a Division I, District 3 game from Sulphur 29-31, 25-21, 30-28, 25-19.

Barbe let five set points slip away in the first set after leading by as many as five points. Rory Boyd (14 kills, 2 aces, 17 digs) made a kill from the back row for a 24-21 lead, but the Tors went on a 4-0 run. The Bucs had two more set points after that on a kill by Danyele Wallace (9 kills) and a Sulphur hitting error. But the Tors (8-13, 0-2) closed out the set on a kill by Claire Mellard (8 kills) and Kierstyn Gremillion’s (12 digs, 4 aces) ace.

“31-29 is a long set to play,” Barbe head coach Katie Franks said. “I just told them ‘Hey, you are right there and we were so close to finishing’. I told them in the huddle, that we are going four (sets) and we are winning it in four, so we are winning the next three in a row. That is what I told them, and they took it and ran with it.”

The second set was another back-and-forth battle, but the Bucs (13-10, 2-0) made a 4-0 run to tie the match.

The Tors were close to swinging momentum their way when they took a 22-18 lead in the third set on a kill by middle hitter Andie Petross (8 kills, 2 blocks), but Barbe rallied for a 5-1 run.

“They hold on to those few mistakes, or they get frantic because Barbe had such good defense,” Sulphur head coach Jenny D’Alessandro said. “They had a phenomenal, scrappy defense.

“My kids get flustered about it like they can’t find a way to get that kill or get rid of that ball. It is getting better. It is there. The communication is a lot better, and the chemistry is a lot better. We just need to learn to finish.”

Ann Kat Barrett led the Bucs’ defense with 50 digs. Kennedi Burks (9 kills, 21 digs), Madilyn Areno (20 assists, 11 digs) and Morgan David (17 assists, 14 digs) also hit double-digit digs.

Sulphur opened the fourth set with a 3-0 lead followed by eight ties. Sulphur cut Barbe’s lead to 21-19 on a kill by Claire Weidner (4 kills), but the Bucs finished strong with a 4-0 run.

“That is something that we have been kind of working on,” Franks said. “We are letting teams go on too big of runs in the middle of our sets, going on six or seven-point runs.

“That is something we have been working on in practice, but I am proud of how we fought back from adversity.”

Sulphur’s Kendall Judge made 30 assists.

Barbe 29-25-30-25

Sulphur 31-21-28-19

Barbe (13-10, 2-0): Rory Boyd (14 kills, 2 aces, 17 digs), Kennedi Burks (9 kills, 21 digs), Danyele Wallace (9 kills), Madilyn Areno (20 assists, 11 digs), Morgan David (17 assists, 14 digs), Ann Kat Barrett (50 digs, 2 aces). Sulphur (8-13, 0-2): Madison Durbin (9 kills), Claire Mellard (8 kills), Jillian Gaudet (11 digs), Kierstyn Gremillion (12 digs, 4 aces), Kendall Judge (30 assists), Maddox Badon (9 digs).