Leading 2-0 Tuesday at home against Monroe County and one game away from winning and improving to 2-0 in the area standings, things went from good to bad for the W.S. Neal Lady Eagles.
After winning set one 25-13 and set two 25-21 to lead 2-0, the Lady Eagles lost the next three sets to fall to Monroe County 3-2 and drop their overall record to 3-6 and 1-1 in area play.
The Lady Eagles lost set three 15-25, set four 15-25 and the deciding fifth set 12-15.
W.S. Neal Lady Eagle head coach Jeff Haney said the game was a very tough loss to swallow.
“Not taking anything away from Monroe County, but this is a game we should have won. I thought our effort was outstanding, and I’m proud of all the girls for the way we played. After getting up 2-0, I think we became a little complacent. Our intensity level dropped and Monroe played well. That combination put us in trouble, and we just couldn’t get back to where we needed to be. I take full responsibility for the loss. It is my job to make sure they stay focused and intense and I didn’t do that. I hope we can keep the hustle that we had in this game for the remainder of the season. I think it will lead to good things.”
In game one for the Lady eagles, Gracee Dixon had two points and one kill while Paige Grantham had four points and one kill.
Stephanie Lambert had two blocks and two kills while Ashlyn Lambeth had four points. Kendal Clayton added one point and Lauren Boatwright had two. Kaitlin Hadaway had four points, one ace and one block in the win.
In game two, Grantham had five points, two aces and one kill while Dixon had three points. Lambeth and Hadaway had one point each while Lambert had two kills.
In the game three loss, Dixon had two points and Lambeth had one kill and three points. Boatwright had one kill and one point while Clayton had one point.
In game four, Dixon and Grantham had one kill each while Lambeth had three points. Lambert had two kills and Boatwright had one point.
In the fifth set, W.S. Neal led 11-10 late before losing 15-12.
Dixon and Lambeth had one point while Grantham had three kills. Lambert and Boatwright had a kill each and Hadaway had two points in the loss.
In other action Tuesday, the W.S. Neal JV team won 2-1 over Monroe County to improve their record to 2-4.
The Lady Eagles won set one 25-19 before falling in set two 12-25. In set three, the Lady Eagles rallied from being down 12-8 to win 15-13.
In set one, Ashley Fleming had five service points and one ace and Tiffany Sawyer had eight points, one ace and one kill. Tykeria Nolan added one point and Jasmine Crook had three points and one ace.
In set two, Fleming, Sawyer and Crook all had one point each. In set three, Fleming had one point, Nolan had three points and Brittany Lucas had four points in the deciding game win.
The Lady Eagles’ varsity team will take on Jackson in an area game Thursday at 4:30 p.m.