Making its first playoff appearance since 2005, the Johnston volleyball team took a long ride to Bristol on Thursday night to face a Mt. Hope team that went 12-2 in the regular season.

The Panthers weren’t just happy to be there.

Thought it didn’t look like a tough match-up on paper, the Panthers made it tougher than Mt. Hope ever expected with a gritty, determined effort. They were in the thick of things every step of the way, even when the Huskies threatened to hit their stride.

In the end, the Huskies survived for a 3-1 victory, but the Panthers got on the bus knowing they’d left everything they could on the court.

“It was a great, great game,” said head coach Greta Lalli. “I’m just so proud of them. They came to win.”

It would have been easy to take a slightly different approach, since making the playoffs was a victory in itself – and since the playoff match-up looked tough. The Huskies came in as the fifth overall seed, the highest-seeded team that didn’t get a bye. Their only losses all year were to first-place Exeter/West Greenwich. The Panthers were the last team into the playoffs.

But they were not satisfied.

Nor were they intimidated.

Megan Macera started the match with a kill, and Indy Cantone followed with an ace. After Mt. Hope won the next three points, Alaina Denoncour landed a kill, and Cara Georgio tipped the ball over a blocker for another point.

It was the same story for the rest of game one. Every time Mt. Hope started to put things together, the Panthers came up with a big answer. Later in the game, the Huskies took a 17-15 lead and forced a timeout. The Panthers responded by winning five of the next six points.

Eventually, the Panthers led 22-20 before the Huskies won the next three points. But a return by Denoncour found an open space and tied the game. A bad pass by the Huskies on an Ashley Peterson serve gave Johnston a 24-23 lead. The teams traded points after that, but the Huskies kept hitting after several great defensive plays by Johnston and won the next three points for a 27-25 win. Denoncour actually blocked Abigail Pattie’s hit on game point, but she couldn’t get the ball back up.

Even after the loss, the Panthers were undeterred.

Three aces by Chelsea McWilliams helped Mt. Hope jump in front 8-4 in game two, but the Panthers steadily chipped away. DeNoncour recorded three kills and an ace as the Panthers tied the game at 18-18.

Mt. Hope started to pull away at 23-21, but a service error and an ace by Cantone tied the game. The Panthers then got a kill by Denoncour and two errors to win 26-24.

“I didn’t expect as much of a fight from them, but I guess I also expected a little more from my girls,” said Mt. Hope coach Warren Rensehausen. “It was tough.”

Mt. Hope got itself into gear in game three. After a nip-and-tuck start, the Huskies won eight straight points to take a 17-9 lead. Johnston made a charge, but the Huskies held on for a 25-16 win.

Facing elimination, the Panthers rode two aces by Peterson and kills from Denoncour and Macera to an 11-7 lead. Even with the Huskies making a run, the Panthers kept pace and later took a 20-17 lead on a kill and an ace by Denoncour.

The Huskies then won four straight, but Johnston twice staved off game point thanks to kills by Macera and Denoncour. After Johnston tied the game at 24-24, though, the Huskies won the next two points to clinch the match.

“Everybody pulled together,” Rensehausen said. “All year long, they’ve been playing well and they did what they needed to do tonight.”

For the Panthers, the loss marked the end of the line but didn’t put a damper on the team’s accomplishments. After going winless the past two seasons, the Panthers went 7-7 this year, won a crucial late-season match against Vets and swept Pilgrim in a tiebreaker.

It was a run to remember, and Lalli certainly will. She’s retiring after 12 seasons at the helm.

“I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to retire with,” she said. “That’s what makes it so emotional. One of the girls said to me after the game, ‘Can we still practice?’ That’s what it’s all about. They did a fantastic job. It’s all heart. That’s what a coach dreams of.”

The Panthers will bid farewell to six seniors – Cantone, Denoncour, Macera, Isabella China, Cristonggia Russell and Llinda Russell.