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East Central came a long way with its competitiveness as a young team this season, but the Hornets couldn’t find away around a Brandeis team that proved in the bi-district round that it was in it for the long haul.

“Amazing,” East Central coach Todd Dorgan said of the improvement his . “They’ve done everything a coach could ask them to do. I wouldn’t change anything – other than a win.”

Brandeis eliminated East Central 25-14, 12-25, 25-23, 25-18 in a bi-district match Tuesday at South San’s Durbon Center. The Broncos (25-16) maintained their poise when the Hornets (21-16) established a 22-20 lead in Game 3 and when a call went against Brandeis midway through the fourth set.

“The main thing we worked on was staying focused, and forgetting that last point or last call,” Brandeis coach Maddie Williams said. “You’re going to make errors, so let’s just move on to the next point.”

In Game 4, the Hornets closed within 14-12 when a tip from Kaylin Mills (2 aces) was ruled to count, although the Broncos protested that it landed outside the line. East Central added another point on a long rally that libero Brandi Campos (33 digs) kept alive. It ended with a Brandeis hitting error, and the Hornets were within a point.

Two consecutive kills from Brandeis’ Morgan Williams (16 kills), followed by one from Kaylin Fey, (5 kills, 7 digs) lifted the Broncos out of trouble at 17-13. The Hornets never got closer the rest of the game, as Brandeis closed out the match.

After losing the first game by a wide margin, East Central turned the tables and won by 13 in Game 2. Adjustments in serve-receive helped, and Dorgan admitted his team needed some time to get up to playoff speed.

“They started believing a little more in themselves,” Dorgan said. “The biggest thing, I think, was having first-ball focus. You need to get that ball up quickly and try to make them make mistakes in execution.

“You saw that with Brandeis. When they had a lot of success was when they won that first ball.”

Mills made an outstanding dig and a perfect pass to Katelyn Gonzales for a kill that tied the score for the fourth time at 20-20 in Game 3. Mills made two impressive digs on the next point also, helping the Hornets finish a long rally with a kill from Nichole West (9 kills, 2 aces). A lift against Brandeis gave the Hornets a late two-point lead.

Momentum was on the Hornets’ side and they needed just three points to take a 2-1 advantage.

Then a ball Brandeis’ Valerie Gardner seemed to unintentionally hit over the net fell for a point. East Central committed an error on the next serve and Brandeis soon was at game point. The Hornets were able to get a sideout, but missed the resulting serve for a 25-23 loss.

“When you have opportunities to win,” Dorgan said, “you need to take advantage. We need to instill that feeling in the girls, and get everyone behind it.”

East Central took control early in Game 3 on a four-point service run from Mills that provided an 8-7 lead, From that point to the end of the match, the Hornets played with great intensity on defense.

“We just made a little adjustment,” Dorgan said. “I told them they’re 13 of the smartest girls that I’ve ever been around. They needed to be able to adjust to what the other team is doing.”

Brandeis regained the lead and went ahead 14-10, but Mills’ next turn at the service line wasn’t far away. The junior served back-to-back aces that tied the score 17-17.

Following a time out, East Central regained the lead.

“They were keeping the ball in play and we were making unforced errors,” Williams said. “I think East Central played a great match defensively. I tried to get the girls to stay “up” and not let down. Finally, we were able to get some momentum going.”

In Game 4, however, the Broncos took charge with a six-point service run from Krista Martin. They were able to run their middle attack offensively and block effectively on defense to maintain the lead.

“It helped us defensively, because it took away a lot of the court,” Williams said of Brandeis’ blocking in the decisive game. “When you do that, it forces them into more errors and more balls that it’s easier to dig.”

East Central sophomore Lindsey Lubianski logged two blocks. Senior Dani Alvarez distributed eight assists.

“The biggest thing we needed to improve was our block timing,” Dorgan said. “We had a couple of lapses, where they came after us.”

Alvarez, Gonzales and middle blocker Lisa Lopez will be the only players East Central loses to graduation. The Hornets, who took second place in District 28-5A with an 8-2 record, should be significantly improved next season.

“You’re always exited, but you can’t wait on anything,” Dorgan said. “They have a week and a half off, then we have to prepare for next year.”

Dorgan was a Hornets assistant last year. He got the job too late to plan an offseason. For 2014, he’ll be on  a mission to raise expectations, built on a foundation of dominating defense.

“We have a lot of natural leaders,” Dorgan said. “They’ve learned a lot from last year to this year. You can always better in your first-ball (attack). We need to work on our blocking system. And we need to learn to play more quickly.

“We’re not a really tall team but, I think if we play a little faster, we’ll quite a few more games.”