LYNNWOOD — In a see-saw match that lasted five games and took nearly two hours to complete, the Lynnwood volleyball team withstood a furious Jackson comeback to capture the Western Conference 4A South Division clash Tuesday night at Lynnwood High School.

Senior outside hitter Molly Hunsinger recorded a game-high 22 kills and teammate Brittni Thoreson added 17 kills to lead the Royals to a 21-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-16, 15-13 victory.

After splitting the first four games, Lynnwood jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fifth and deciding game, but if the Royals thought the win was going to come easy, they were mistaken.

Jackson went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-12 lead before Lynnwood regrouped and scored three unanswered points to secure the game and match.

Four bad serves by the Royals helped the Timberwolves sneak back into the game.

“That was a huge momentum shift for the other team,” Lynnwood coach Jean Kellogg said.

During a timeout Kellogg had some strong words for her players.

“Miss Kellogg told us to stop playing not to lose and to be aggressive,” Hunsinger said.

Much of the early lead in the fifth game came from the play of middle hitters Kelsey Ayres and Daylene Wilkie, Kellogg said.

But in the end the Royals turned to Hunsinger and Thoreson, who responded with key hits.

“Both of them really led the way as captains and with being aggressive and pulling the team together,” Kellogg said.

Kellogg saw the match as a study in contrasts.

“A strong offensive unit (Lynnwood) played a strong defensive unit (Jackson),” Kellogg said.

Setter Julie Nguyen had 68 assists and Daylene Wilkie recorded 10 kills for the Royals, who improved to 3-4 in the league and 5-7 overall.

This is Nguyen’s first season as setter.

“She does an excellent job of moving the ball around,” Kellogg said.

The major problem in the first game was a lack of communication, Hunsinger said. The discussion during the break was that everyone needed to talk more.

“We definitely talked a lot more in the second game,” Hunsinger said. “That helped us. Everybody picked it up.”

Lynnwood was coming off a 3-1 victory over Shorewood in its only match from last week.

“We are doing the best we’ve done all season,” Hunsinger said. “I think we’re on the rise now.”