Alba-Golden fans got an extra treat last Tuesday when the Lady Panthers hosted the Ladycats of Kerens in a non-district match.

In a thrilling contest the Lady Panthers prevailed (25-20, 25-16, 15-25, 20-25, 15-11).

All appeared in hand as Alba-Golden built an 11-point lead, 24-13, in the first set.

Then the Ladycats decided to make a statement. They recorded three kills, a drop shot and a block to go on a 7-point run. The late rally by the visitors communicated that this match was not going to surrendered easily.

Faith Graham was a stand-out performer in the first set. She contributed three aces, two kills and two scoring drop shots.

The Lady Panthers used two rallies to take the second set. They had a 5-point run to tie the set at 15 and ended the set with a 7-point rally. 

The service hand of Sadie Wright and the net play of Averi Stevenson and Campbell Shrum carried the second set for the Lady Panthers.

Kerens engineered a win in the third set while the Lady Panthers lost their focus. The best volleyball of the night was played in the fourth set. Both sides hit their stride, and it made for some excellent competition.  

Two late scores, a Stevenson kill after a long volley and an emphatic spike by Shrum kept the home side leading into the late stages. Leading 20-18, the Lady Panthers could not stop the Ladycats end game.

A service error, a ball off the rafters, a drop shot, a block, an ace and a kill put Kerens at set point. A mis-hit sent the match to the tiebreaker.

Stevenson rocketed a kill from the middle to start the fifth set.

The set remained close until a rally fueled by two aces from Jayla Sitar, a drop shot from Brianna Ringgold and a Stevenson kill.

It was another Stevenson score which finally sent Kerens home and secured the win for Alba-Golden.