DIXFIELD – There are times when adjustments become necessary, and Anna Chase knew it was time to make it happen.

In a marathon, Chase was battling Marlee Dubord of Jay, who won the first set 6-1. But Chase came back to win 6-3 and force a third set.

“I had to keep trying,” Chase said. “She has a good lob, and I found that if I stepped back (baseline), that I was able to return it. My forehand was my best shot.”

Chase used the momentum to go up 4-0 in the deciding set and served out to win the match.

“(Anna) is a gamer,” Dirigo coach Art Chamberlin said. “She is competitive and will battle no matter what the score is. It would have been tough to come back in a pro-set, but by going three sets, she had time to adjust.”

Senior Allyson Gill breezed through a match in straight sets for the clincher as Dirigo upended Jay, 4-1.

Dirigo (4-2) discovered quickly that the Tigers were prepared to fight tooth and nail. Both doubles matches included tiebreakers and set the tone for things to come.

“The final score is certainly not indicative of the close matches,” Chamberlin said. “This wasn’t easy by no means. In Allyson’s match, she was able to (outthink) Bryndi Richards and took advantage of being able to place shots.”

Jay (1-6) trailed 2-1, and the top two singles matches were being played simultaneously on the Pierce courts. The Tigers needed to win both matches to have a shot.

The drama subsided when Gill (5-1) took out Richards, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 1 singles. Gill’s lone loss this season was to a German exchange student at Wiscasset.

Jay won No. 2 doubles as Alana Davis and Megan Sullivan downed Rachel Child and Meri Brown.

“The second doubles did well,” Jay first-year coach Sara Thurston said. “This is a young team, one senior and nine freshmen, but the girls have adapted well. It has been a learning experience.”

Moments later, the Cougars’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Chlorissa Blood and Lindsay McKeen dispatched Jess Grover and Shauni Flagg, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

Dirigo junior Kristen Harvey beat Anne Harvel, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3 singles.