Mineola dropped a five-set match against visiting Grand Saline Oct. 15. After trading wins in games one and two, the Lady Jackets won a dogfight in game three, but the Lady Indians turned the momentum and won games four and five for the match victory. 

Plenty of resounding spikes, blocks and digs thundered throughout the Mineola gymnasium last Tuesday.  The two hard-hitting sides made the volleyball match as physical as it can possibly be. Most of those loud indicators of hard-hitting did not result in quick points. Both teams demonstrated incredible persistence in producing some of the longest volleys of the season. 

Games one and two were mirrors of one another. The Lady Indians jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead. Mineola fought back to tie the score at 12. Grand Saline used their patented attack from the left wing to separate from another tie at 19 and secure game one 25-20. Lady Jackets Valerie Garcia, Sabria Dean, Tahjae Black and Mylee Fischer put in solid performances in game one. 

Roles reversed in game two, as Mineola had the fast start taking a 5-1 lead. Once again the game was tied at 12 apiece. Back-to-back aces by Cyndi Butler broke the 16-16 deadlock and put Mineola on the path to victory. The Lady Jackets took advantage of Grand Saline miscues and won game two 25-21. 

Game three was the dogfight. Thirteen ties indicated the back and forth nature of the contest. Neither side could sustain service. The competition produced several extremely-long volleys. Remarkably, neither team suffered ill effects from the long volleys, which indicated the strong mental discipline of each side. Dean and Brittany Pickle finished with a flourish, combining for the last four Mineola offensive points. The Lady Jackets took game three 27-25.

Mineola built a slight lead in the early stages of game four. Grand Saline responded and tied the score at 12. A six-point Lady Indian rally including two aces and three kills propelled the visitors to the win in game four, 25-17.

The game four win swung the match advantage to the Lady Indians. They returned to their game one tactic, bringing their attacks in from the left wing. Eleven offensive points, versus six for the home side, secured Grand Saline the game five win by a score of 15-11.