When Perry Hall coach Pam Wilt scheduled a match earlier this year with defending Class 4A state champion Severna Park, she was hoping her team might learn a thing or two from the Falcons.

Yesterday, two weeks after losing to Severna Park in a three-game match, the Gators showed host Dulaney what they took away from the experience: confidence.

No. 8 Perry Hall played with lots of it in a 15-11, 15-13, 15-10 win over the 11th-ranked Lions.

"We learned that we could play with a team the caliber of Severna Park," said Wilt, whose team scored 11 or more points twice against the Falcons, winners of 57 straight best-of-five matches. "That gave us confidence, and it showed today. Even when we got down, the kids kept playing hard."

But Perry Hall (3-1, 3-0) didn't find itself down very often.

After scoring the last three points of Game 1 to win, 15-11, the Gators used the strong hitting of Jasmine Gieron (10 kills) and Jessica Pataki (nine) to break out to a 13-2 lead in Game 2.

But the Lions (4-1, 1-1) didn't quit. Led by hitter Melissa Krawczyk, they scored 11 straight points to even the match and threatened to take control for good.

The Gators, however, outlasted the streak and captured the game, 15-13.

Perry Hall again trailed, 5-0 and 6-2, in the third game before rallying to pull within 10-8. With good serving, the Gators then closed out the match by scoring seven straight points.