The Jefferson Lady Dragons (5-0, 1-0 Area 8-AA/A North) notched their first sub-area win of the season 25-16, 25-14 over Lakeview Academy (7-3, 0-1) in the opener of a tri-match at Lakeview on Thursday. They remained undefeated with a 25-3, 24-26, 25-13 victory over 8-AA/A South opponent Prince Avenue Christian.
The Lady Dragons start five seniors, four of which have started since they were freshmen.
“We have a senior-laden team and we expect to do well,” said Jefferson coach Mike Paul.
Five games in, they’ve lived up to expectations.
Jefferson senior setter Amanda Daniel was around the ball all night, recording 10 assists against the hosts and another 18 assists and 10 aces against Prince Avenue.
Taylor Cramsey recorded a team-high 17 kills in the two matches.
The sub-area win, in front of a vocal crowd, was an important step early in the season.
“This was a big win for us,” Paul said. “Lakeview’s got a very good team and good coaching and fan support.”
Jefferson shook off the louder decibels quickly; the squad sprinted out to a 17-2 lead in the opening game with Cassie Metcalf, Daniel and Cramsey serving, and hung on for the nine-point win.
Lakeview came within four points at 18-14 in the first game, but Metcalf returned to the service line to close the door.
The Lady Lions stayed close early in the second game, but Jefferson managed to pull away late with Cramsey serving the last two points to seal the 2-0 match win.
Cramsey had six kills and four aces, Savanna Holland added five kills, and Eden Starnes and Metcalf tallied three kills each in the opener.
Senior Jamie Nixon paced the home squad with four kills and Lakeview senior Molly Gay added four assists in the loss.
“Jefferson’s pretty strong,” said Lakeview Academy coach Karen Towles. “They hit the ball well and served the ball well. They’re going to be pretty tough to beat.”
Prince Avenue Christian presented a different challenge for the Lady Dragons. Paul subbed backup players in for the second game after cruising in the first and the Lady Wolverines capitalized and grabbed a two-point win.
Jefferson refocused for the tie-breaking game and used a dominating serve by Holland, who recorded four aces in six points to take the lead for good.
Cramsey recorded a team-high 11 kills in the second match along with two blocks, Holland added five kills, four aces and two blocks, Sarah Wood tallied five kills, Metcalf four kills and Starnes two.
Jefferson will return to the court against two more Area 8-AA/A South teams Aug. 30 at Hart County, with matches against the hosts and Athens Academy.
The night for Prince Avenue wouldn’t get any easier Thursday; Lakeview Academy returned to the court for the final match mad, Towles said.
“We took our anger from the Jefferson game out on Prince Avenue,” she said. “The girls were so pumped to be able to play again after the loss.”
Nixon led the squad with 10 kills in a dominating performance at the net, freshman Bailey Towles recorded a team-high six assists, Gay added five and Shelby Ross, Katie White and Abraham added two assists each.
This time the Lady Lions wouldn’t be falling behind early.
“In the locker room (between games) we had a really good talk about starting on top and finishing on top,” Nixon said. “And we finished on top.”
The Lady Lions raced out to an 18-5 lead in the first game and didn’t let up in the 11-point win.
Lakeview held a 24-12 lead in the second game before Prince Avenue embarked on a 6-0 run. It was Nixon who killed the comeback attempt with a hard strike to finish off the 2-0 match win.
The Lady Lions will take a break from sub-area play when they travel to George Walton Academy Aug. 30 to play at 6 p.m. against North Oconee and at 7 p.m. against the hosts.
Lakeview might have struggled in the first sub-area match, but it’s still early for a program that has a history of starting slow and finishing strong.
“Our goal is to get to state,” Nixon said. “And I definitely think we can exceed that goal."