Two days earlier, Lacey’s boys volleyball team did Barnegat a favor, knocking off Pinelands Regional in a critical Shore Conference B South division contest. But the Bengals had to be on their guard because they, too, couldn’t fall victim to the Lions.

“We lost to Lacey last time and we thought we were the better team, and we had to come out and prove it in this match,” said Cole Winkle, who registered five kills and four blocks, including one to stake the Bengals to a third-set lead for good,…