CONSTANTINE — Volleyball fans got their money’s worth Tuesday night as Brandywine and Mendon battled for a spot in the Class C regional championship at Constantine High School.

The Bobcats were able to pull out a thrilling 3-2 win over the Hornets to advance to Thursday’s title match. They will face Lawton, a 3-0 winner over Gobles in the first semifinal on Tuesday. Brandywine defeated Mendon 25-27, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25 and 18-16.

In the fifth and deciding set, Brandywine trailed 3-1 before rallying behind the hitting of Kelsey Prestly.

Prestly had a pair of kills as the Bobcats cut the Hornet’s advantage to 4-3. After Lacey Cupp dumped a ball over the net for another point, Mendon led 7-5.

Six straight service winners from Prestly got the Bobcats right back in the match as Brandywine led 10-7. But the never-say-die Hornets came storming back behind the play of Cupp.

The two teams battled back and forth with the match eventually drawing square at 14-14.

A Prestly kill gave the Bobcats a 15-14 lead, while a Heather Medich kill squared things at 15-15.

Lauren Leonard gave the lead back to Brandywine only to have Heather Wright tie things up again at 16-16.

A Mendon hitting error moved the Bobcats to match point and when Prestly crushed another kill, Brandywine was headed to the finals.

“They don’t give up,” Brandywine coach Nikki Bush said. “They push through every single game and every single point until they get the outcome they want.”

The Hornets (38-19-5) took the opening set, which was more like a war between the two schools.

After opening up an early 10-6 lead, the Bobcats came roaring back to close the game to 19-16 and eventually taking a 21-19 lead behind the serving prowess of Ashley DeJonge.

DeJonge fired off nine consecutive points, including a trio of aces, to give Brandywine its first advantage since 3-1.

Behind the strong hitting of Amanda Lovell and Medich, Mendon was able to battle back. The pair combined for five kills with the set hanging in the balance and provided the Hornets with the spark they needed to pull out the victory.

It was more of the same in the second set, only this time the Bobcats were able to pull through at the end and square the match at 1-1.

Mendon opened up a 4-1 advantage early on, but Brandywine took a 5-4 lead on three straight points from Mackenzie Shelton and a kill from Leonard. Back-to-back Prestly kills squared the set again at 8-8, but a 4-0 run by the Hornets gave Mendon a 12-8 advantage and forced Bush into a time out.

Morgan Smallwood provided a kill and an ace out of the timeout to square the set once again, this time at 12-12. Smallwood finished with four straight service points, including an ace in the run that got Brandywine back into the set.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth until a pair of kills by Prestly sandwiched one by Leonard and the Bobcats had a 20-19 advantage. Leonard followed with a block and the lead was 21-19 forcing the Hornets into a timeout.

Brandywine would not be denied in this set as Prestly followed with a block, Smallwood a kill and Shelton followed that up with a kill to give the Bobcats set point at 24-22.

A tip by Mendon’s Amanda Mohney cut the lead to 24-23, but a serving error gave the second set to Brandywine.

The Bobcats looked to have taken charge of the match in the third set as they rolled to a 25-19 victory that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Brandywine dominated play, leading 8-5 early on and then building its advantage slowly but surely.

Mendon was able to make one run at the Bobcats, cutting the lead to 13-11 following a long rally and a block by Jessica Doster.

But from that point on, Brandywine owned play at the net, on the floor and at the service line.

A pair of kills from both Prestly and Shelton, plus a huge block by both Prestly and Smallwood helped the Bobcats open up a 21-15 advantage. Shelton’s tip made it 24-19 and Prestly’s kill finished off the Hornets.

Mendon would have nothing of it and was able to force a fifth and deciding set with a 25-20 win over the Bobcats in the fourth set.

The Hornets grabbed a 4-1 lead right off the bat only to have the Bobcats rally to make it a 10-9 contest.

A trio of errors by Brandywine broke the set open as it fell behind 17-12. Despite a strong effort at a comeback, led by the serving of DeJonge, Wright was able to finish off the Bobcats with a kill.

Prestly led the Bobcats with 22 kills and three blocks, while Shelton finished with 15 kills and 24 digs. Leonard added 12 kills and five blocks with Smallwood finishing with 21 digs and three blocks.

Jessy Cooper ended the night with 46 assists.