Madison Jensen makes a diving defensive play for the Seagulls.

SEASIDE — Astoria and Seaside kicked off “Clatsop Clash Week” with volleyball action Tuesday night, as the Gulls hosted the Fishermen in a key Cowapa League opener at the Gulls’ Nest.

And Astoria posted the first win of rivalry week, with a thrilling, five-game marathon victory over Seaside, 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 15-6.

The two teams will meet again Oct. 4 in Astoria.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s match was destined to go five games.

Two teams that pride themselves on conditioning, endurance and “going the distance,” indeed went the distance.

For what it’s worth, the Lady Fishermen had a little extra at the end of this one.

“I knew there was a possibility of this going five games,” said Astoria coach Jessie Todd. “It’s a rivalry match, emotions are high, and you know everybody is going to be playing out of their mind.”

But, “just like the North Marion match (Sept. 13, a five-game Astoria win), we pride ourselves on conditioning and being able to last that long.”

Game 1 featured nine ties, before Seaside snapped a 20-20 deadlock by going on a 5-1 run to close out the set.

For the final three points, Gulls’ senior Tori Tomlin had a monster kill down the right line, another down the center of the court, then an off-speed kill from teammate Ellisa Blodgett gave Seaside the one-game lead.

The Gulls took their momentum and built an early 5-2 lead in Game 2, before Astoria stormed back and tied it at 5-5, then took the lead on an ace serve from Hailey O’Brien and never looked back.

Astoria’s lead reached 19-11, before O’Brien and Halle Helmersen served up aces down the stretch to even the match at one game apiece.

Seaside had six missed serves over the first two games, while the Fishermen were perfect from the service line … until Game 3.

The Gulls were running away with the third game, building a 12-3 lead.

But Astoria went on two big rallies sparked by the serving of O’Brien and Julia Norris.

With the Fishermen trailing 24-18, Norris stepped to the line and served up five straight points to bring Astoria to within 24-23.

But her sixth serve was off the mark, and only the second missed serve of the night for the Fishermen gave Seaside the final point for a two games-to-one lead.

Norris made up for it in Game 4, however.

With Seaside leading 19-16 and ready to close out the match, Norris went on a jump-serving tear, serving Astoria into a 21-19 lead. Kes Sandstrom highlighted the rally with a power kill at the net.

An ace serve from Sandstrom helped close out the game for Astoria, and the two rivals went to a fifth game.

And in a game that featured just two ties (1-1 and 3-3), the Fishermen caught fire and went on a decisive 8-2 run, sparked by the serving of Emilli DeLong.

O’Brien added a kill from the back row, helping Astoria to an 11-4 lead.

Seaside added two more points, but two attack errors late in the game gave the Fishermen their final two points to close out the match.

“It was exciting,” Todd said, adding that serves helped save the day. Astoria had 17 ace serves on the night, led by O’Brien and Sandstrom with four apiece.

“Julia, Hailey, and even Kes and Emilli all did a great job,” she said. “They’ve really worked well on picking their spots and determining where to put the ball. Julia puts a nice, aggressive top spin on her serves.”

Sandstrom also had 10 kills for “a nice hitting night,” Todd said, which wasn’t easy against the Seaside block.

“They’re tall, they jump well and they really read hitters well,” she said of the Gulls.

Kajsa Jackson had six blocks for Astoria, while “Hailey played some great defense,” Todd said. “She’s really settling into her libero role, and picking up balls that no one expects her too. Seaside was celebrating a few times, then Hailey came up with some great digs (34 for the match).”

Astoria returns to the Brick House for a match with Banks on Thursday, while the Gulls host Valley Catholic, also Thursday.

Junior varsity: Astoria def. Seaside, 25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 15-8.