POULSBO — In the final game of the season, the Poulsbo Junior High Panthers were determined.

Not determined in the traditional playoff sense of win-at-all-cost, but rather determined to have a good time in their final match together at Poulsbo Junior High. Grabbing third place in the Olympic Junior High League was purely a bonus.

“I’m always surprised at how competitive I really am, and the girls show me ever year that it really doesn’t matter if we win or lose,” said PJH coach Amy Johnson. “We’ll lose and you know I’m bummed, (but) they are singing a song in the stands. It’s a lesson that I learn again and again: it’s just a game.”

After a dreary loss to CK 3-1 Tuesday, when Poulsbo took on Fairview Thursday in the match that determined third place in the league, it was a game with good spirit.

The match began with Fairview taking a 5-1 lead in the initial game, but as the Panthers stayed positive and balanced in their attack, Leena Adamian smashed the team’s first solid kill of the afternoon.

Poulsbo picked up momentum with a Bryana Bohl ace and another Adamian kill, which tied the game at nine. Once the Panthers got rolling, the Falcons were hard pressed to stop them.

After mounting a 13-10 lead, the Panthers fired off a 7-1 run to make it to the 20-point mark. From there, it wasn’t long until Erika Bratlien clenched the game with an ace — 25-13.

“We were all kind of in a good mood, and they always play better when they are in a good mood,” Johnson said, noting that she’d employed a strategy of fun for the season finale.

“Seal-io the deal-io!” the Panthers broke from their team huddle for the second game of the match.

But Fairview wasn’t about to hand over Game 2 without a fight. After the Falcons began the game with a 4-1 lead, it was a battle of three-hit volleys for the rest of the way.

“We’ve really improved our hitting and our coverage,” PJH freshman Brittany Everett said, measuring up her team’s improvement on the court this year. “We had some rough times with drama, but we always get back up.”

Fairview clutched their biggest lead of the second game at 15-10, prompting a PJH timeout as Johnson looked to pick the Panthers back up. But the Falcons would not let up as an ace put their score at the 20-point mark.

Then a rash of Poulsbo’s mental mistakes guided Fairview the rest of the way to the 25-16 victory.

In the third game, the Panthers would get back up with the strength of their leaders.

“A lot of the girls found leaders in themselves and strengths that they didn’t know they had,” freshman Toria Messinger said.

The Panthers started with a 4-0 lead, then back-to-back aces from Bratlien pushed PJH ahead 9-2. A Panther kill and a Messinger ace gave PJH the run-away points.

Fairview rallied, but the Panthers were poised. Holding off, the Falcons final attempts, Poulsbo sealed its spot in third place in the league with a 25-20 victory.