By EVAN DUDLEY

sports@woodcountymonitor.com

The gym was filled to capacity and fans of the county’s two best volleyball teams were drawn to support their respective teams. The energy in the building was palpable and it showed on the court.

The Alba-Golden Lady Panthers (18-13, 7-4) began the week with a sweep of Quitman, avenging an early season sweep by the Lady Bulldogs, the 12th-ranked team in 3A. Alba-Golden finished off the week with another strong performance defeating Eustace Friday in a sweep, 25-18, 25-23 and 25-12.

The tone was set early in the first set. Gracie Pendergrass had a leadoff kill and the Lady Panthers, fueled on emotion, raced out to a 10-4 lead. Quitman appeared to be caught off-guard by Alba-Golden and never could close the gap. The Lady Panthers finished strong, repelling a late Quitman surge and taking the match 25-15.

The Lady Bulldogs regained their composure in the second set and managed to take two late leads but were unable to overcome Alba-Golden’s intensity. Quitman kept the game close throughout but the Lady Panthers earned the win 25-20.

It was a battle in the final set with Quitman facing the possibility of a Lady Panther sweep but Alba-Golden fought throughout and earned the sweep with a 25-21 win. There were eight ties and seven lead changes in the set.

“I’m proud of the level of play that my girls have been playing. We have had a big week,” said Alba-Golden Head Coach TaShara Everett. “We lost to two (Quitman and Eustace) very good Lady Bulldog teams the first time we played them. We knew Tuesday that we would have to play hard to beat Quitman at our place.”

Gracie Pendergrass continued her strong season with 15 kills against the Lady Bulldogs. Kenzie Chadwick added eight kills and a block. Breezy Weissert dished it around with 22 assists and seven digs and Aspen Howard finished with two aces and an assist.

The Carson sisters each had a strong game. Bethany finished with six kills and four blocks and Ginny had nine digs, five kills and two blocks.

Alba-Golden kept the momentum rolling Friday in a sweep of Eustace. Pendergrass led the team with 12 kills, 11 digs, four blocks and an ace with Chadwick adding eight kills.

Bethany Carson had four blocks and a kill and Ginny Carson had 12 digs, four kills and four blocks. Howard had a kill and an assist and Weissert finished the game with 18 assists, 17 digs, two kills, a dig and an assist.

“The key to Friday’s win was controlling Eustace’s big hitter. My middles, Bethany and Ginny (Carson), did a great job with getting blocks and tips on the ball.” Everett said. “The senior leadership of Briana (Weissert) and Gracie (Pendergrass) has helped us turn the corner in the second half of district. This is a very tough district and every Tuesday and Friday you must play your A game.”

Alba-Golden has three games remaining beginning with Kemp Tuesday and an away game at Grand Saline Friday. The Lady Panthers close out at home against Mineola. Alba-Golden swept all three of their remaining opponents and can finish with 10 district wins if they win-out during the next week.

Quitman responded to the Alba-Golden loss by sweeping Kemp later in the week Friday. The Lady Bulldogs, playing on the road for the second straight game, took care of the Lady Jackets quickly in three sets 25-8, 25-12 and 25-15.

Junior Kaci Raley led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 digs, nine kills, two assists, three blocks and an ace. Senior Macy Wilson had eight digs, seven kills, two aces and a block. Juniors Cammie Hicks and Molly Tanner each had 7 digs. Hicks added 20 assists and an ace. Tanner had 11 kills, three aces and two blocks.

Quitman is now 25-9 and 9-2 in the district with three games left in the regular season. The Lady Bulldogs host Eustace Tuesday and travel to cross-county rival Mineola Friday before ending the regular season against Grand Saline. Like Alba-Golden, Quitman has defeated the remaining opponents on their schedule with two of the matches being sweeps.