#4 Seton Catholic began a week of tough region matches Tuesday night with the first of what they hope will be a trio of victories.

Seton was pushed to five sets by #14 Mesquite, but managed to prevail by scores of 20-25, 25-18, 27-25, 23-25 and 15-11 in a 4A Desert Sky Region skirmish at Mesquite High.

The win kept Seton unbeaten in region play. The Sentinels are 10-2 overall in power-ranking matches, 4-0 in region. That's only good for second place as American Leadership Queen Creek is in first at 5-0 after notching another region win Tuesday vs. Saguaro. Seton visits ALA-Queen Creek Thursday and matches up again Friday at home against Seton.

"We always expect a battle from Seton," Seton coach James Johnson said. "(Mesquite coach) Carlos runs a good program. They pushed us to the end. A couple players stepped up for us tonight, and we needed that."

Johnson honed in on junior middle Katie Thiele.

"She was very aggressive and I thought she gave us a spark," Johnson said. "The way she played won't show up in the stats, but it got my attention."

Seton celebrates its win in the third set against Mesquite. The Sentinels won the match, 3-2. (Azpreps365 photo)

Seton's attack keyed the final-set triumph. The Sentinels trailed only once (3-2) and pulled away from a 6-6 tie for the win. A 6-1 run saw kills from Gracie Shearan (two), Emilee Horky, Thiele and Mikayla Bell. Alexandra Van Devender's ace finished the match.

Seton's usual leaders on the attack were in form. The Sentinels received 13 kills each from outside hitters Horky and Kyleigh Ganz. Middle hitter Katherine Lalicata was next with eight. Libero Rachael Martinez was on her game with 38 digs. Horky added 16 digs and Van Devender chipped in with 12.

Mesquite (7-6 prm, 3-2) shrugged off the tight, third-set loss that put it down, 2-1. The Wildcats were behind the entire first half of the fourth set. They battled and managed brief leads and even led 22-18. Seton rallied to tie at 23, but Mahri Kaczmarek's kill and the next point block brought on set 5.

Kaczmarek led Mesquite with 12 kills, followed by Ryleigh Vollmer (10) and Hailey Hanna (9). Hanna led on defense with 29 digs, Vollmer had 20 and Ava Castro 17.