Consistency is likely the most difficult aspect of high school sports – especially volleyball. In this game, the techniques used to win the match must be performed just as well at the end of the match when fatigue and focus may suffer as at the beginning when adrenalin and energy reign.

The Mineola Lady Jackets regained their consistency through the stretch of a four set (28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23) win over the visiting Edgewood Lady Bulldogs last Tuesday. 

Any athletic event featuring a Mineola vs. Edgewood match-up is likely going to be a good one. The two well-established athletic programs produce quality performances year after year. Last Tuesday was no exception. 

The Lady Jackets got off to a great start. There were no doors open at the gym, but the movement on Olivia Hughes’ service to start the match gave Edgewood fits. Mineola took the first six points of the match, forcing an early time-out.   

The two sides surged back and forth, with neither team able to establish dominance. Two well-placed shots from Hughes off the right wing and two smashes from Tierany Neighbors seemed to give the Lady Jackets the edge late in the set. 

Edgewood however would have two set-points and Mineola one before the Lady Jackets took the first set on a Mahayla McMahon kill shot from the left wing. 

Edgewood faltered in the middle of set two, giving Mineola a 4-point edge from unforced errors. The Lady Jackets held on to the lead and finished the second set strongly after a resounding combined block by Neighbors and Kyra Jackson.

Set three was Mineola’s challenge on the night. The Lady Jackets ran their right tires off the pavement in set three and it took a while for them to get those tires back up out of the gravel and onto the pavement.  

Despite consecutive emphatic blocks by Jadelyn Marshall, the Lady Jackets could not rally in set three. They were stuck in the gravel.

In the fourth set the score was tied at 15 when McMahon drilled the ball to the floor from the left wing, earning Mineola the advantage. Left-hander Caroline Castleberry came in to issue the service, and Edgewood had trouble handling her offerings. 

It was the opening which Mineola needed. They took advantage. 

Neighbors scored with a drop shot and then hammered two kills off of excellent sets. The right-side wheels popped back on the pavement and Mineola claimed the match with a Hughes score from the right wing.   

Mineola has started district play with two solid wins. After facing Harmony and Winona, the Lady Jackets travel to Eustace, Friday, commencing play at 4:30 p.m.