NEWTON – Within the Bay State Conference’s minefield of Div. 1 boys volleyball titans, it’s unchartered territory for Brookline to face the potential pressure that comes with the state’s top ranking.

Consider the Warriors unaffected.

Down a set twice, on the road, in a possible Div. 1 state final preview, against the defending state champions, No. 1 Brookline (7-0) continued to show its championship pedigree by rallying past No. 2 Newton North Tuesday night for a 3-2 win (23-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-13, 15-12).

Star outside hitter Kristaps Vaivars (17 kills) and the Tigers’ Simon Vardeh (24 kills) drew plenty of attention as two of the leading candidates for state’s top player going toe-to-toe, but it was depth and discipline down the stretch that propelled Brookline in an ultra-tight matchup with playoff-level suspense.

The Warriors now have wins over No. 2 Newton North (6-2), No. 3 Needham and No. 4 Natick already this year.

“Ever since the start of the season, we know, we’ve felt that this season is a really good one,” said junior outside hitter Amir Tomer (14 kills). “We’ve got a special team here. Every single one of our players, they do their job. … We hold ourselves to a high expectation, but at the same time, we don’t let that get to our heads.”

“It feels good,” added junior setter Alec Smagula (50 assists). “We didn’t play our best today, but I think when it mattered, we dialed in. … Coach Lexi instills in us we’re the best team in the state. No matter how many points we go down in a set, it’s never out of reach.”

The reigning champs believe in themselves as the state’s top power, and they showed plenty of that gumption in a tremendous back-and-forth by twice taking the lead in the match.

Libero Brady Dwyer starred against an onslaught of heavy hits fired at him. Setter Paul Nelson wasn’t perfect, but found the right hitters to rack up 40 assists with three kills. Peter Reale (seven kills, six blocks) stepped up in the middle in key moments, while Amaris Cotto and Aaron Stein balanced the attack. Brookline responded to Newton North’s 25-23 first set with a 25-21 win, before the Tigers erupted in the third, 25-15, to put Brookline on the brink.

The Warriors played with the right mix of urgency and composure from there, though, committing just four errors over the 65 points. Middle Liam Raybould (nine kills, three blocks) had two blocks and two kills in a 21-11 start to a must-win fourth set. Smagula dished nine assists to help win it, 25-13.

After Tomer posted three kills in that fourth set, his three straight kills in the fifth broke up a run of side-outs to give Brookline a 7-4 lead. Vardeh ripped off seven kills himself in that fifth, but senior right-side Conor Christopher notched three kills, Vaivars added three, and Luka Gallucci and Raybould scored a point to edge out the set, 15-12.

“I know they’re the defending champs, but I feel like with our team, we do not have that pressure,” said Brookline head coach Lexi De La Cruz. “We understand that we are one of the best teams in the league. … I knew that our boys were able to fight.”

Much of that composure the Warriors played with in the final two frames can be attributed to how it didn’t give up in a 10-1 deficit to start the third set, eventually rallying to pull within 16-13 before Newton North ran away with it. Getting quality output from multiple avenues, including libero Andrew Bacon and Kais Al-Fakhuri, backed the rally, too.

“It was a battle between (Vaivars) and (Vardeh), but I told my team, ‘If you want to win this battle, it’s going to be the other guys,’” De La Cruz added. “The difference in this match was how our guys were able to support their best player.