Mercer Island volleyball survived a five-set nail-biter against Kamiakin in Saturday’s 3A state tournament consolation bracket, beating the Braves 3-2 at St. Martin’s University. With the win, the Islanders advanced to compete for the fifth-place trophy.

After splitting two heated sets to open the match, with Mercer Island dropping the first 25-22 and winning the second 29-27, the Braves pulled ahead 2-1 with a 25-17 third-set victory.  But Mercer Island was able to bounce back, evening the match with a 25-20 win. Then after falling into an early 4-0 hole in the decisive fifth set, the Islanders managed to swing the momentum to close out the set 15-12.

The Islanders will take on Southridge in the fifth-place match at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at St. Martin’s University.