The comeback was in full swing for Solvay’s girls volleyball team during Wednesday night’s Class B regional playoff opener against Section V champion Honeoye Falls-Lima.

After a one-sided opening-set defeat, the Bearcats had won the second set and were poised to move out in front if it could pull out the third set, too.

But two points from that victory, Solvay faltered, and the Cougars, taking full advantage, went on to win the match in four sets, short-circuiting the Bearcats’ first-ever state tournament appearance.

True, Solvay had won a lot of Section III championships prior to 2014. But those came in the winter, when there wasn’t a state tournament, only regional finals.

Now, having fought past Marcellus to earn that first sectional fall crown, Solvay would deal with Honeoye Falls-Lima – and it was a rude introduction in the opening set, the Bearcats falling 25-9 to the Cougars.

Settling down, Solvay was strong in the second set in all phases of the game, from defense to service, and it produced a 25-18 win to level the match.

The back-and-forth third set followed, as the Bearcats and Cougars both made runs, but were unable to get away. Finally, at 24-24, HF-L got back the serve and managed to earn the set point to win, 26-24, and reclaim the lead.

Solvay battled in the fourth set, but the Cougars, maintaining the momentum, still prevailed 25-18 to advance to the regional finals.

As always with the Bearcats, defense played a big role. Jackie Gardner had 26 digs, with Michaela Marotti adding 22 digs and Ksenyia Myalik 20 digs. Jackie Allen contributed 19 digs and Lauren Bandera finished with 11 digs.

All told, Gardner finished with 11 assists and eight kills, with Bandera gaining seven kills and nine assists. Allen had a team-best nine kills as Myalik contributed five kills. Solvay finished its season under first-year head coach Eric Wojtalewski with a record of 12-7.