OREM — This is exactly the sort of match that teams are looking for as they begin a new prep volleyball season.

When American Fork and Orem finally finished on the court Tuesday night, both coaches agreed each team has a good season to look forward to.

Five games after a quick start by Orem, the Cavemen finally came away with the comeback victory, 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11, in a match that couldn't have been much closer if planned.

"It was a sloppy win. We have a lot of work to do. We showed a lot of caution tonight, but I like that we were able to overcome that first game loss," said American Fork coach Danette Moea'i.

The Tigers came out strong in Game 1 and took American Fork apart. The Tigers' passing in that game was phenomenal, especially that of libero Jentry Hatch. Meanwhile, the Cavemen had a tough time getting into points and were a little sluggish, especially in the passing part of their game.

"We stunk in that first game. In the past, we would have continued to stink, but not in this match," said Moea'i.

The Cavemen showed off plenty of powerful hitters, including superstar Makenzie Moea'i, who finished with 15 kills but wasn't consistent through the entire match, according to her coach.

But Jessica Jardine took over, especially late in the contest, and came away with 17 of her own kills in an outing that could become the first on her own road to stardom.

"Jardine can bang the ball. She picked us up a lot tonight," said Moea'i.

Hayley Su'a-Filo, coming off knee surgery in July, also played well in the middle with seven kills and eight service aces, in addition to an impressive solo block.

Jessica Fugal also had four block assists and a solo block in a solid outing. Overall, the team looked improved over last season as they pulled away after the disastrous first game.

But the Orem Tigers didn't roll over and die. They made an impressive comeback of their own after the Cavemen went up two games to one and held the lead late in Game 4 until the Tigers came back to tie it up at 23-23 and went ahead on an ace by Chalise Herman.

The Tigers are playing with only one varsity starter returning from last season in Hannah Robison, who finished with 12 kills in the match, but the team seems to really be starting to gel and playing with a more relaxed and confident feel than last year's team that was loaded with stars.

"It was fun. A loss like that will not demoralize this team. We just need to minimize our errors and get some more experience," said Orem coach Natalie Kidman.

Hatch has been sick but still controlled the backcourt for Orem with her impressive digs, and Kaysie Taylor added eight kills. McKell Steele added five kills, and Herman served up six aces in the intense match that went down to the wire.

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