When Kenny Seiler came out of a 13-year retirement to return to the Saline varsity volleyball sideline, it was nights like Tuesday he was looking forward to.

Saline dropped the first set and fell behind in the second before rallying for a 3-1 win over Huron, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-12, in an early season matchup between two of the Southeastern Conference’s best teams.

“I knew what this team had, I watched them a lot last year,” Seiler said. “Even though I wasn’t coaching I was around the gym and I was them, I knew it was going to be exciting. It was an easy choice.”

On the fourth point of the first set, Hornets senior Jess Wolma, who Seiler calls the “heart and soul of this team”, came down awkwardly near the net and left with an ankle sprain. She didn’t return.

Huron took advantage, going on a 9-4 run after the injury. The River Rats never lost the lead, behind strong serving and multiple kills from senior Kristen Vyletel, who set the school’s career kills record Saturday.

“We executed perfectly,” Huron coach Toney Cummer said of the first set. “They were out of system most of the set, and we kept going.”

The River Rats went up 8-2 in the second set, before Saline came back to life. The Hornets went on a five-point run, took the lead at 14-13 and never trailed again the rest of the match.

The Hornets, ranked No. 6 in this week’s coaches poll, have already come back from deficits of 22-12 and 22-11 in tournament play in this young season. Compared to that, Tuesday’s comeback was a cinch.

“Being back six, especially early in the game, isn’t that big of a deal with these guys,” Seiler said. “They’re used to going on runs.”

Margo Main and Kara Rogers had nine kills apiece for Saline. Mallory Luke had 13 digs and Angela Szuminski had 12.

The strong early season was what Seiler envisioned when he took the job in July, following the sudden resignation of another new coach. He accepted the job just four days before the start of its team camp, but found a veteran group that had organized its own offseason conditioning and was ready for the new season.

Seiler had last coached the Hornets varsity team in 2000, and had been away from coaching with three young children at home.

But when Saline athletic director Rob White called to offer him the job, the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“I feel pretty blessed right now,” Seiler said.

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.