By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
The math was simple to do, but tough for the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers volleyball team to swallow.
Take away one middle hitter and one setter and it added up to a 25-16, 25-14, 18-25, 25-17 loss for the Lady Tigers at Jay (Fla.) Monday.
T.R. Miller was without the services of middle hitter Joy McCorvey (recruiting trip) and setter Emily Layton (illness). While their replacements were able to make some plays, it was far from enough to topple the Lady Royals.
In addition to being without two starters, a lot of the Lady Tigers' problems can be attributed to Jay's Katie Penney. Penney served up 30 points and 10 aces.
The first two set losses followed similar patterns. The teams played on near even terms for about two-thirds of each set before Jay made a decisive surge.
T.R. Miller (4-4) had a 9-6 lead in the opening set thanks largely to three points and two aces by Megan Fountain, two kills by Foster plus an ace and two points by Peacock.
That set had a 16-16 deadlock after an ace by Peacock, but a defensive point and eight straight points by Penney gave Jay the win.
The Lady Royals had just a 15-14 lead in set two before Penney reeled off seven points in a row with four aces to put the Royals in control.
T.R. Miller overcame an early 6-2 deficit in the third set. The Lady Tigers grabbed their first set lead when a kill by Peacock completed a three-point string by Stacey Jackson that put T.R. Miller up 11-10.
The set was deadlocked at 15-15 when a Jay missed serve and three points with an ace by Fountain put the Lady Tigers ahead for good.
The Royals rebounded in the fourth set where they raced out to leads of 9-1 and 18-5 to close things out.
T.R. Miller's junior varsity also came up on the short end at Jay Monday, as they dropped a 13-25, 25-23, 15-10 decision. Brewton Middle School ran its record to 5-1 with a 25-13, 25-19 victory over Jay.
The Lady Tigers host Flomaton Thursday. JV play starts at 5:30 p.m.