The W.S. Neal Lady Eagle volleyball team ended a three-game losing streak Tuesday at home as they picked up an area sweep of Jackson 3-0 to improve to 3-5 overall.
Most importantly, the win improved the Lady Eagles to 3-1 in area play.
“We played much better today than we have in the past few games,” W.S. Neal Lady Eagle head coach Britney Shelly said. “We still lacked control at times but we played together as a team and hustled. Teamwork was the difference in this game.”
W.S. Neal won set one 25-15 and rallied in set two to win 25-22. In set three, the Lady Eagles closed out the match with a 25-8 win to get the win.
In other games Monday, the Lady Eagle JV team defeated Central on the road 2-0 to improve to 5-1 while the varsity Lady Eagles lost 3-1 to drop to 2-5.
The Lady Eagles were set to take on Flomaton Thursday on the road and will be back in action Monday, Sept. 27, at home against T.R. Miller. The Lady Eagles have dropped the UMS-Wright tournament for Oct. 2 and will now play in the Northview Tournament Sept. 25.
W.S. Neal will be in pool A with Cottage Hill and Northview. W.S. Neal will begin play at 9 a.m. against Cottage Hill and will follow against Northview.
All games will be played best 2-of-3 and the top two teams from each pool will advance to the gold single elimination game while the third place teams will play in the silver bracket game.
The Lady Eagles games against Pleasant Home (Sept. 21) and Jay (Sept. 23) have been rescheduled for Monday Oct. 4.
W.S. Neal 3,
Jackson 0
In set one against Jackson Tuesday at home, the Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 11-3 lead and cruised to the win 25-15.
Whitney Douglas led W.S. Neal with seven service points, one ace, and one kill.
Amanda Crawford had three service points, one ace, and three kills in the win.
Gracee Dixon added two service points and Brittany Revel had one.
In set two, after taking a 6-3 lead, Jackson rallied to take a 10-6 lead and led 22-18 late in the match before W.S. Neal outscored the Aggies 7-0 down the stretch to get the win 25-22.
Revel led with seven service points and two aces and Malary Booker had four service points with two aces.
Dixon had three kills and Amanda Crawford added two. Whitney Douglas had one service point in the win.
In the final set, W.S. Neal started the game on an 8-1 run and followed with a 13-2, 15-3, and 23-6 lead before winning 25-8.
Britta Wood led with 10 service points and Crawford had four with two aces.
Douglas had one kill and one service point along with Booker and Kaitlin Hadaway. Paige Grantham added a kill in the win.

W.S. Neal JV 2,
Central 0
In a JV match Monday at Central, W.S. Neal won 25-12 in sets one and two to win 2-0 and improve to 5-1.
Gracee Dixon led with 19 service points and Marissa White had nine.
Stephanie Lambert had three assists, six kills, and two blocks.
“This was another good win for the JV team,” Shelly said. “We played well overall even though at times we lost focus. Our serves were really good tonight and we came out with a lot of hustle.”

Central 3,
W.S. Neal varsity 1
In varsity action Monday, the Lady Eagles lost 3-1 to Central to drop their overall record to 2-5.
The Lady Eagles lost set one 25-23 before evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 win in set two.
In set three, W.S. Neal lost 25-20 and lost set four 25-23.
Wood had 14 service points along with Douglas and Revel led with 15.
Wood added four assists, three kills, and three blocks and Douglas had eight kills and two blocks.
Crawford chipped in with eight kills and two blocks as well.
“Tonight we played better that we have been, but we still are uncontrolled with our passes,” Shelly said. “Serves hurt us tonight as well as our serve receive.”