CORALVILLE — It was the ride of a lifetime. It just didn’t reach the destination the Comets wanted it to.

The BCLUW volleyball team traveled an improbable comeback path to force a deciding fifth set against Dunkerton before falling to their conference rivals in Tuesday’s Class 1A quarterfinals at the Iowa High School State Volleyball Championships inside Xtream Arena.

The fourth-seeded Raiders rallied up a fifth-set victory to defeat the fifth-seeded Comets, 25-20, 25-17, 17-25, 20-25, 15-8.

It was BCLUW’s third-straight trip to state, but their first without a win.

For the first two sets, it seemed the Comets wouldn’t even get a game from the Raiders (30-11). Backed into a corner, BCLUW (36-9) refused to go away.

The Comets put all phases of the sport together and nearly marched all the way back to the state semifinals for the third year in a row.

“I just felt like we had a little bit more confidence,” said BCLUW head coach Megan Yantis. “We weren’t on our heels. We were back against the wall and like ‘hey, we’ve got to come out and do this.’ And we just flipped that switch and then it was a completely different volleyball team.

“I really thought we had it. I thought we’d come back that fifth game and find a way to win.”

The Comets’ turned the tide so hard that the Raiders were suddenly stuck with nowhere else to go but up, and they did exactly that.

Dunkerton junior Kylee Pexa put down seven of her match-high 21 kills during the deciding fifth set, sparking the Raiders into the next round.

“I think when you have a group that has been in that situation a million times, nothing phases them,” said Dunkerton head coach Brittany Weidman. “Sometimes you need a hard reset. BCLUW did a fantastic job backs against the wall and really pushing through there. We knew they were going to do it, we knew it was going to be a battle.”

The Comets led 5-4 before senior Daisy Fettkether served up a seven-point surge that put the Raiders in control for good. BCLUW used both its timeouts during the Raiders’ run, but nothing worked.

“Sometimes it doesn’t happen your way,” Yantis said. “I think we had the energy, we had the fight, and then we lost it.”

It marked Dunkerton’s third-straight win against the Comets in four head-to-head matches this season. The Raiders advance to face top-seeded St. Ansgar (29-4) in tonight’s 6 p.m. semifinals. No. 2 Janesville (32-11) and No. 3 North Tama (29-13) — Iowa Star Conference teams like BCLUW and Dunkerton — meet in the 6:25 p.m. semifinal.

“I’m glad we made it to state for my seniors and all my teammates too,” said BCLUW senior outside hitter Grace Farnsworth. “I know next year they’ll do great things just because every single person on that team can uplift each other, no matter what the situation, and they’re gonna do great.”

Farnsworth led the Comet comeback and posted a team-leading 19 kills on the night. She refused to tip the ball and kept swinging when her team needed her most.

Farnsworth is one of five seniors who played their final match for BCLUW.

“I’m just so proud of them,” Yantis said. “They’ve given us a great season. We had a lot of people that I think doubted us this season, whether or not we were going to be successful and whether we were going to make it to state or not.

“I just feel like these seniors willed us here and were great leaders and I’m going to miss the heck out of them.”

Junior outside Olivia Peters put down 15 kills for the Comets, Kylie Pekarek added nine kills and both Kennedy Davis and Cambria Wayman finished with five kills. Leah McEwen chipped in with two kills as the Comets battled back from what seemed destined to be a three-set sweep.

BCLUW’s passing was off the mark throughout the first two sets, but it came back around in time to spark a comeback. Junior libero Brinna Benson was 46-for-51 in serve-receive and also made 10 digs, while Wayman made a team-high 15 digs for the defense. Pekarek posted four blocks.

Wayman ended the night with 27 assists and Sally Ramirez added 17 more to go with six digs.

The Comets couldn’t overcome 14 service errors and a Dunkerton attack that was varied enough to have the BCLUW block chasing the Raiders around the net at the start of the night.

“I thought we were flat, just not who we normally come out to be,” Yantis said. “I don’t know if we came into it expecting to just win, but I don’t feel like we’ve done that all season. It could have been nerves — we do have some girls that haven’t been out there before.”

It reflected early as the Raiders used four runs of three or more points in a row to get the upper hand on BCLUW. The Comets only had one such run in the second set and fell behind 2-0 before they’d even played their best volleyball.

A six-point surge midway through the third set looked like the BCLUW team that got to state, powered by Benson’s serving — she had an ace — and consecutive kills from Wayman. Peters also put down two kills to help the Comets change their fate for the time being.

The two teams were tied at 19-all in the fourth set before BCLUW scored six of the final nine points to push the match into the deciding fifth set.

“I feel like the fifth set was very challenging for us, especially since we used all that energy to build up the previous two sets,” said Farnsworth. “But I feel like we did a great job no matter the outcome. I’m so proud of my team.”

Iowa Girls High School State Volleyball Championships

At Xtream Arena, Coralville

CLASS 1A

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Nov. 4

St. Ansgar def. East Mills, 25-11, 25-16, 25-18

Dunkerton def. BCLUW, 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 17-25, 15-8

Janesville def. Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18

North Tama def. Sidney, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23

Semifinals

Wednesday, Nov. 5

No. 1 St. Ansgar (29-4) vs. No. 4 Dunkerton (30-11), 6 p.m.

No. 2 Janesville (32-11) vs. No. 3 North Tama (29-13), 6:25 p.m.

Championship

Thursday, Nov. 6

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.