An early 2-0 lead slipped away from the Pella Christian volleyball team in their home opener Tuesday night, as they fell to Newton in a Little Hawkeye Conference match 3-2.

The first set required extra points, but the Eagles would stave off the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead by winning the set 29-27. Set two was also tightly contested with Pella Christian pulling within one set of the sweep with a 25-21 victory. The match remained close in set three, with Newton keeping the game alive with a 25-19 win. The Eagles nearly put the match away in the fourth set with three match point opportunities, but the Cardinals forced the deciding set with 26-24 victory. After dropping the prior two sets, Pella Christian couldn’t regain the momentum in the fifth set, falling 15-2. Maggie Heinen led the Eagles defense in digs with 18, while Faith Kacmarynski was 15 of 16 serving.

The Eagles drop to 2-6 on the season and 0-2 in the league with the loss, and they will look to bounce back on Thursday at Woodward-Granger.