Staff photo / Preston Byers Campbell’s Da’janelle Will (20) and her teammates celebrate their 3-2 win vs. Mineral Ridge on Monday in Campbell.

CAMPBELL — Entering Monday, Campbell’s volleyball team was perfect.

The Red Devils had won each of their nine matches this season, including five in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference (MVAC), and were one win away from a potential clash with McDonald for sole possession of first place in the league.

Mineral Ridge had other ideas.

The Rams, whose only blemish came against McDonald three weeks ago, took control of Monday’s match nearly the third of the way through the first set and nearly handed the Devils their first loss of the season.

However, a desperate comeback was in order for Campbell, which overcame a two-set deficit to earn a 3-2 victory (16-25, 18-25, 25-16, 25-22, 16-14) Monday in Campbell.

“We started off way slower than we wanted to. We knew we were gonna have to beat Mineral Ridge if we wanna win the conference, and we get to see them again. Very well-coached team,” said Campbell coach Tyler Allen, who said the Devils had never beaten the Rams before. “We just came out flat. Didn’t play our game and played with a little bit of nerves. Got it all out, and then started to play our game.”

The teams battled back and forth early Monday, with neither gaining control a dozen points into the match. A string of Campbell mistakes, however, gave Ridge a few consecutive points and the momentum it needed to run away with the opening set.

The Rams rattled off eight points in a row, taking a commanding lead they would not relinquish en route to a 25-16 victory.

More of the same followed in the second set despite Campbell’s Da’janelle Will aced three times in a row and the Devils taking an early lead.

Mineral Ridge battled back from the deficit and dominated the middle portion of the set to establish another advantage that proved more than enough for the 25-18 second-set win.

While the Rams took three of the first four points in the third set, the Devils soon broke Ridge’s momentum and rhythm.

An ace by Jada Smith and a diving save sparked a run of six consecutive points and 11 of 12 points in favor of Campbell.

Ridge responded with five straight points of its own, but the Devils, much like the Rams in the first two sets, stayed well ahead down the stretch to extend the match to a fourth set.

Mineral Ridge once again opened a set with a strong showing, taking seven of the first 10 points and appearing on the verge of extinguishing Campbell’s rally. But the Devils would not be denied.

Campbell, which went nearly point for point with Ridge in the fourth set, overcame a 22-20 deficit by winning each of the final five points, during which Elysia Rudolphi contributed a trio of aces to ignite the Campbell bench and fans.

Rudolphi’s serving remained red-hot to open the final set, as she aced three more times in the first five points to give Campbell a 4-1 lead.

The Devils built an 8-3 advantage but quickly saw the momentum shift to Ridge, which strung together points and, after chasing Campbell throughout the set, finally tied it at 13 apiece.

Despite Mineral Ridge’s best efforts, the night belonged to Campbell, which quickly moved past a missed match point opportunity to take advantage of the next and completing an improbable comeback.

“We need to be able to figure out how to play at a more consistent level,” Rams coach Ron Lesko said.

“The pressure on, they’re serving aggressive, we’re not passing well and that’s what you get as a result,” he added.

Mineral Ridge (5-2, 4-2) will try its best to forget Monday’s result and focus on today’s home match vs. Western Reserve.

As for Campbell (10-0, 6-0), the Red Devils will get their matchup today at McDonald to determine first place in the MVAC.

“I tell them before every match this next set’s the most important that you guys are gonna play,” Allen said. “No matter what our record is, the very next point is the most important point. And they just do a good job with that, and they do a really good job in not getting caught up in the wins and losses and just trying to get better individually in different aspects of the game and making different adjustments.”