The Mineola Lady Jackets opened their home-court season with a convincing straight-set win (25-19, 25-20, 25-8) over the Lady Tigers of Commerce last Tuesday.

The win came on the heels of an excellent showing at the Tyler Tourney the previous weekend – where the Lady Jackets fell to the tournament-winning, and state-ranked, Sunnyvale side. 

The most notable characteristic of Coach TaShara Stephen’s squad was the ease with which they played. The relaxed manner of play was not lack of aggressiveness nor laziness, it reflected rather confidence and competence. 

The disciplined yet flowing state of play resulted in zero communications failures on the floor last Tuesday. Also indicative of their play was a total of only six service errors. 

Throughout the match, Mineola forced Commerce to earn their points. The Lady Jackets averaged only 7 unforced errors per set.

The first set turned on a brief but illustrative rally. With the score tied at 8, Canyon Redding scored with a rocket from the left wing. Mahayla McMahon came out of the back line to drill a kill shot. After forcing a Commerce mis-hit, Kaitlyn McMahon ended the brief rally with a service ace.  

Mineola went up 12-8 and never relinquished the lead. 

The Lady Jackets were relentless on the attack. Redding finished with 13 kills and 3 aces, while Mahayla McMahon generated 11 kills and 2 aces. The ability of both players to produce accurate and powerful kill shots is something to see. 

Much of the hitters’ success came from the excellent setting of junior Callie Black. Mineola was clearly in sync last Tuesday. In the second set, the Lady Jackets opened a 10-point margin early and cruised to a 5-point win.  

The second set broke the visitors’ spirit, and the Lady Jackets dominated the third set.

The work of libero Kaitlyn McMahon deserved special mention. McMahon demonstrated a knack for not only digging tough shots, but doing so in a manner which allowed her teammates to turn that dig into a scoring opportunity.

The Lady Jackets gave the home fans reason to come back to the gym this season. There will be plenty of excellent volleyball on display. 

The next opportunity to view the Lady Jackets at home will be Tuesday, Sept. 2 when they host Wills Point at 7 p.m.