The Mineola Lady Jackets could be closing in on a banner year. They are days away from beginning district play and seem to have addressed all those particularly-difficult aspects of scholastic volleyball: the seam between the front and back lines, the communications when in a scramble, timing of the set and maintaining focus.

It is that last attribute, focus, which is most notable in this squad. Their collective attentiveness to the action contributes to all the other characteristics. 

Last Friday’s match against a very-talented Cayuga team was an excellent example. Mineola took the match in four games, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 25-22.

The visiting Ladycats presented a great challenge. They have height, strong blockers and a very capable backline. They also have recent playoff experience. 

The two sides traded scores in the first half of game one. The score stood tied at 8, when Cayuga opened a 5-point advantage on a block, a drop shot, two aces and a forced error.

With great effort from Mylee Fischer and Gracie Finley, the Lady Jackets slowly fought their way back. Jocelyn Whitehead scored her first kill of the match to tie the score at 20. She followed that with a second kill and a score on a drop shot. 

Following the longest volley of the night which featured some amazing scrambling by both sides, scores by Fischer and Finley secured game one. 

It was the Ladycats who were in the groove in game two. Leveraging their excellent attacking from the wings, they built a 6-point margin at the midway mark. Cayuga began to flex its muscles with a number of short sets to avoid the timing of Mineola’s middle blockers. 

The visitors rode their offensive skills to a game two win. 

With each team having flexed their muscle, game three was nothing but frantic action. The attacking by both sides was relentless. The Lady Jackets took game three by dominating the late play. Olivia Hughes exploded for several scores in the pivotal game three. 

The match-deciding game victory was notable because Mineola had to hold off a late Cayuga rally and because Whitehead empathically drilled the ball down on the Cayuga side of the court for the final point. Her joyous celebration afterward seemed to communicate a team message: they had arrived. 

The Lady Jackets will be at Gladewater on Tuesday, Sept. 20, before opening district play on Friday, Sept. 23 with Mt. Vernon coming to town.