Down 0-1 to the W.S. Neal Lady Eagle volleyball team Thursday night at home, the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers rallied for three straight wins to get a 3-1 win over the Lady Eagles and pick up a key area win.
The win for the Lady Tigers varsity team finished off a sweep for T.R. Miller teams over W.S. Neal Thursday.
In middle school action, Brewton swept W.S. Neal 2-0 winning 25-9 and 25-6. In JV action, T.R. Miller claimed another 2-0 sweep as they defeated W.S. Neal 25-17 and 25-12.
In varsity action W.S. Neal took the opening set 25-21 to take an early 1-0 lead over T.R. Miller. From there, T.R. Miller earned three straight wins by scores of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-14 to stun the Lady Eagles.
With the win for Brewton Middle School, the Lady Tigers improved to 8-0 while W.S. Neal Middle School fell to 2-1. In JV action, T.R. Miller improved to 3-1 while W.S. Neal dropped to 1-2. In varsity action, the varsity Lady Tigers improved to 5-1 overall and to 1-1 in area play. W.S. Neal fell to 1-3 overall and to 0-1 in area play.
“It was a big win for us tonight because this was the tie-breaker game between us if we tie later on down the season,” T.R. Miller Lady Tiger volleyball coach Greg White said of the varsity game. “If we split, the first game is the tie-breaker game so it is a big win for us in the area race. In the first game we did not play bad. Serve receive just cost us a few points, but we kept playing. Give credit to (W.S.) Neal, they made the plays and we didn’t.”
After the first set, White said he we just basically reminded his team of the work that they do year round.
“The conditioning we do year round, I thought that would be a factor tonight, and it was,” White said. “I think in that last game we had a little bit more gas in our tank. We just kept hitting the ball hard. They made some plays, but over the course of time, we just kept hitting it and kept hitting it. I think us having a little bit more gas in our tank played a part. They (W.S. Neal) looked a little tired. We say that all the time that the work we do year round, that we work hard in the off-season for games like tonight. I think the guys in the stands and the cheerleaders and the enthusiasm they brought helped out everybody and gave us a little bit more motivation. I appreciate all that and all the cheering section for what they did tonight.”
White said although his team trailed W.S. Neal early, it was big for them to come back after being down.
“In a game that is best three-out-of-five, that first game is the most important,” he said. “You don’t want to start out behind the eight ball so to speak. I was just proud we had the perseverance to battle back and win the next one and tie it up. From there it is anybody’s game you just have to go out and go from there. Go Tigers.”
W.S. Neal head coach Jason Blaney said despite the loss, he was proud of his team’s effort.
“Hats off to head coach Greg White and his team,” he said. “They are a very good team. They have a lot of great hitters. In the first set we came out very aggressive and we had multiple kills and multiple blocks. In the second set, it was a great set going back and forth. In the third set we let up. We had a call that got in the girls head and we just had to let that go. In the third set, I think we only had two kill opportunities. We have to get back to our passing and work on our receiving and serving. If we can get that we will be OK. I was really proud of the effort and we will see Miller again in a week and a half. We will be gearing up for the area tournament at the end of the year.”