Dexter players react to their 3-1 loss to Brighton in the Class A district championship game Friday at Pinckney High School.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

PINCKNEY - In two separate sets, the Dexter High School volleyball team was put on its heels with 6-0 deficits.

It was a microcosm of Dexter’s struggles to combat Brighton’s service game Friday night, resulting in the Dreadnaughts falling 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-21, 25-14) to the Bulldogs in a Class A district championship game at Pinckney High School.

“The biggest thing is they’re a tough serving team,” said Dexter coach Erin Penn. “We knew that going into it. We tried to prepare in practice for their deep float serves.”

Such serves threw the Dreadnaughts (32-10-5) offense off-balance for a bulk of the match.

“It was really hard for us to get into any kind of a rhythm tonight, because we were always off the net or too tight,” added Penn.

In the first set, Brighton extended its lead to as much as 9-1, led by hitters Sam Siddall and Haley Evans, who racked up 12 and nine kills, respectively.

Dexter, however, eventually rallied with a 10-3 run, anchored by Polly Washabaugh, who strategically tipped down two points and added an ace during the stretch to cut the gap to 16-13. But that was as close as the opening set came. Brighton fittingly capped the set on an ace by Siddall.

More Coverage at MLive.com: Rest of the Story | Boxscore | District Bracket