By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

CEDAR BLUFF – Much like their first volleyball meeting on the first of September, the Gaylesville Lady Trojans made Cedar Bluff fight for every point in their area match on Monday.

And, much like their first meeting, the Lady Tigers took Gaylesville’s best punch and persevered.

Cedar Bluff rallied from an early 4-0 deficit in the first set to take a 25-17 victory. The Lady Tigers pulled away for a 25-17 win the second set, then fought off a late Lady Trojan rally in the third set to earn a 25-22 decision to improve to 11-9 on the season (4-1 in area play).

“It was deja vu all over again,” Cedar Bluff coach Deidra Cox said. “The first set they came ready to play. They jumped out on us real quick. They had all the momentum on their side and looked real good. They’re scrappy. They find a way to get the balls up and over. They had bodies hitting the floor, but we were able to counter that. We fought back and finally settled into a groove. We were able to execute. That was hurting us for a while. We weren’t finishing plays. We were letting too many go.”

One of those Lady Tigers Cox said finally settled into a groove was Paityn Walker. Walker finished the match with 18 kills, 11 assists and 10 digs. Several of her kills came down the stretch of the third set.

“She had some real good swings, some real good approaches,” Cox said. “Our timing got better and that helped drastically. She was able to put some down really when we needed them.”

In that third set, Cedar Bluff built a seven-point cushion at 18-11 only to watch the Lady Trojans tie things up. However, the Lady Tigers managed to outscore Gaylesville 7-4 down the stretch for the final.

“One ball hit the floor and we snowballed down hill real quick. The next thing you know it was tied up at 18,” Cox said. “I like there at the end where we can put it together when things are not going our way. It just took a good pass, a good set, and finally a real good swing to get us right back on track.”

Marlee Timm added 11 digs, 11 assists, four kills and two aces for the Lady Tigers. Vana Martin posted 21 digs. Cece Davis delivered five kills and an ace.

Piper Cromer came away with four kills, four digs and two aces. Jakirah Brown contributed four kills, two digs, a block and an ace. Makayla Kimmons and Jahleigh Dodd collected eight and seven digs respectively. Marley Horton finished with three kills.

Chloe Collins delivered 19 digs, eight assists, two kills and an ace for Gaylesville. Lydia Reynolds added four digs, a kill and an ace. Abbie Bishop posted five blocks, four kills and two digs.

Aubree Colbert came away with 10 digs, three kills and an assist. Bayleigh Ratliff accounted for four kills, four digs and two aces. MaKenlee Young came away with 16 digs, an assist and an ace. Charlee Sentell finished with three digs.

“I’m really proud of how they didn’t just lay down, but when they make a mistake, they just get themselves down and it kind of snowballs before they get back up,” Gaylesville coach Haley Bryson said. “That’s one thing we’ve been talking to them about all season. They’ve got to keep high energy the whole time. When they have energy they play better and they don’t make as many mistakes.”

The two teams will play each other again on Saturday, this time in the Cherokee County Tournament at Sand Rock. Match time is set for 11 a.m., with the winner taking on top-seeded Cherokee County at 1:30 p.m.