Mineola wins neighborly match with Alba-Golden

Posted 9/8/22

lin in the Mineola High School gymnasium last Tuesday. The Lady Panthers of Alba-Golden were in town to face the Lady Jackets. 

Both teams have had promising pre-district performances this …

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Mineola wins neighborly match with Alba-Golden

Posted

lin in the Mineola High School gymnasium last Tuesday. The Lady Panthers of Alba-Golden were in town to face the Lady Jackets. 

Both teams have had promising pre-district performances this year and are eyeing titles in their respective districts.  

The Lady Panthers took the first game in the match, 25-21, but Mineola played the more consistent volleyball on the night and came away victors by etching wins in the next three games (25-14, 25-11, 25-18). 

Both sides demonstrated some great volleyball in that initial game.

Floor movement and communications rewarded the fans with an excellent demonstration of every aspect of the game.

The contest was notched at 8 when – behind a service stretch by Macy Fischer – Mineola went on a six -point run. The Lady Panthers took a time-out with the score 15-10, Mineola. Alba-Golden came back to tie the game at 16 with two service aces by Erin Langsten. 

The Lady Panthers methodically forged ahead. Cacie Lennon looked off the defense and scored on a nice drop shot. She then backed that up with an emphatic kill. 

The visitors carried the momentum when it counted, and with the assistance of a Hailey Crutchfield kill which ran down the top of the net, they secured the game one win.

The excellent pace of play continued in the second game. Mineola pushed out to a seven-point advantage. Jocelyn Whitehead was dialed-in on her kill shots throughout the match and gave Mineola the early lead. 

Alba-Golden closed at mid-game to within a point with a Lainey Teel spike.

Mineola generated two short runs which opened the winning margin in game two. They received contributions from the whole line-up, including great work in the middle from Mylee Fischer.

The game ended with Fischer scoring on a well-timed block and Kloey Garcia offering up two aces.

The Lady Jackets used an 11-0 run to secure a large margin in game three. Coach TaShara Everett’s side played near error-free volleyball in game three, while Olivia Hughes joined Whitehead in finding gaps in the Alba-Golden defense.    

It appeared that the match had been decided; Mineola had withstood Alba-Golden’s initial surge.

Having built a 20-10 lead in game four, Mineola had seemingly taken compete control of the match. At that point Lady Panther Cacie Lennon put on a great display of grit, scoring on a block and three drop shots at the net.

Alba-Golden closed the gap to within five points, but scores by Whitehead and Fischer saw the Jackets through.

In a fitting tribute to a very well-played match, the final point came on what was the longest volley of the night. 

Both teams commence district play on Friday, Sept. 23. Mineola hosts Mount Vernon, while Alba-Golden travels to Boles.