The Weber High girls volleyball team found itself in that precarious position Tuesday against Layton.

The teams were tied one set apiece when the Warriors opened set three with an 8-1 lead and still led 22-16 late in the frame.

Layton’s MaLeah Quinton then scored six straight service points, and suddenly the set was tied at 22.

“We lost a little bit of focus because we were up so much. We lost some confidence on passing and siding out,” Weber coach Renae Birch said. “I had to remind them to relax through the play, swing high, get the kill and move on, rather than getting stuck and nervous.”

Although the set was also tied at 23, 24 and 25, the Warriors finally won in extra time, 27-25.

“We were stuck in serve-receive and couldn’t get ourselves out,” Weber sophomore Bradey Schiffman said. “We had to limit our errors, remember our positions and what we were supposed to do. We just needed to play clean volleyball.”

After three close, competitive sets, Weber dominated in set four and remained undefeated in Region 1 action with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-16) victory.

“I think we came out very nervous; we really wanted to win. We have put ourselves in a good spot this season so far, and it’s our opportunity to keep that,” Birch said. “I kind of hyped them up in the wrong way. ‘Hey, we have to make sure we stay clean’ — but ‘stay clean and have fun’ would have been a far better message.”

The Lancers (8-14, 1-2 Region 1) raced out of the blocks strong and had the home crowd thinking upset with the first-set win. Kaymbree Henry controlled the net with blocks and kills for Layton.

Things continued Layton’s way and the Lancers led 20-16 in the second set before Weber (15-9, 4-0) posted a 9-3 run, tying the match at one set apiece.

“We had to relax and be aggressive on our serving — serving is the strength of our team — then trust our hitters,” Birch said. “We had a lot of unforced errors today … got them out of our system. We cleaned those errors up after a timeout.”

Vivian Cruz started the comeback with four consecutive service points to pull the Warriors even at 20, then they went on to take the set.

If rallying in set two didn’t shift the momentum, hanging on for the set three triumph certainly did.

“We saw we needed to push and pick it up. We needed to win so it didn’t go to five (sets). Everyone remembered what we had to do,” Schiffman said. “We started connecting and played really calm.”

Layton coach Hannah DeYoung gave props to her team for battling back in that third set.

“I was really proud of the way we competed mentally, to stay engaged when we were down 1-8 to start, and ended up losing by two,” DeYoung said. “Take it one point at a time and come back from those deficits. Now we need to work and figure out how to close those tight games.”

Set four was much easier for the Warriors.

“We were more disciplined, started to cover balls better and talked on defense. I think we faced some adversity, so I’m proud of this win, but we definitely have some things to work on,” Birch said. “I think Layton played really well. Anybody’s beatable.”

Even with the disparity in their records, the Lancers gave their foe all they could handle.

“We always treat every game the same, no matter who the opponent is on the other side,” DeYoung said. “That’s why we surprise teams in our region, because we get overlooked … stay composed and focused in those big moments.”

Quinton had 10 kills for Layton and Danelle McKellar added seven more.

For Weber, Sophia Sparrow smashed 13 kills and had seven blocks.

Tesyn Stewart had 12 digs, Scarlett Smith set 27 assists and served four aces, while Cruz checked in with 12 digs and four aces for the Warriors.

Schiffman also had 13 kills for Weber, avoiding Layton’s Henry when she could.

“They have a big blocker and I had to find a way around her; for every swing, you can’t swing as hard as you can. You have to switch it up with a real shot or a tip,” Schiffman said. “When it’s a green light, you swing when you can.”

With a small Region 1, Weber has cleanly navigated half the schedule without a loss, having faced every team once.

“Take care of our job; keep playing at a high level, respecting everyone and at the same time having the confidence to know we can do it,” Birch said.