By Michael Lindsay
The Jackson County Lady Blue Devils opened their week with a District 7A victory Monday evening as they won at Clarkrange, 3-1.
“I think we get a little better every time we play,” said Jackson County head coach Lucas Martin. “Our coverage and defense are getting better.”
Clarkrange and Jackson County split the first two sets before the Lady Devils closed out to win the final two sets 25-21 and 25-14.
“It’s really important to close strong,” said Martin. “Especially when your next night is an away game; momentum is everything in volleyball.”
Jackson County opened the contest with a 25-16 victory in the first set capped off by a Jules Looper kill.
Clarkrange responded with a second-set victory by a 25-19 margin to tie the match at 1 set each.
The Lady Buffaloes opened the third set with a 4-0 advantage before Jackson County closed the gap and tied the set at 10 via a Bell Beaty ace. The teams traded points to a 12-12 tie before the Lady Devils went on a 7-3 run to take a 19-15 lead. Jackson County pushed their lead to six points (23-17) via back-to-back blocks at the net by Looper before a Bella Chaffin kill gave the Lady Devils a 25-21 win in the third set.
Jackson County closed out the match in the fourth set as they pushed out to a 24-13 advantage via a Beaty kill before a Looper kill finished off the 25-14 set victory to secure a 3-1 win by the Lady Devils.
“There was a lot of good play tonight,” said Martin. “Both of our middles were up there creating some good blocks and had good coverage on defense by our libero. Our outsides made good decisions and our setters were distributing the ball well.”
Jackson County is back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Clay County for District 7A play while Clarkrange hosts Monterey.
