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Florala fought hard but fell short 3-0 to Samson in area volleyball action Thursday night.

The Wildcats (2-2, 0-2 1A Area 2) quickly found themselves in a big hole early in the first set. The Tigers (3-1, 1-0) shot out to a 4-0 lead and increased their margin to 7-3. SHS went on an 8-0 spree to take a commanding 15-3 advantage. Chyenna Regan hit an ace as Megan Odom came up with a kill to cut the deficit to 10. Gretchen Varner made it 18-9 with an ace as FHS started building a comeback. Florala used a 6-2 run capped by a kill from Regan to trim the score to 20-15. Samson saw its lead trimmed to three at 23-20 but held on for a 25-20 opening set win.

The roles reversed in the second set as FHS began strong. Odom scored an ace for the first point, and Regan added a kill during a 3-0 start. SHS stayed close and forced a tie at 5-5 before Regan gave her side the lead back at 7-5 with two kills. Kyndra Anthony collected an ace to give Florala its largest lead at 11-8. Samson did not back down and used an 11-2 surge to take back control for a 19-13 lead. Another kill from Regan, her sixth of the set, and an ace from Varner trimmed the score to 19-15. A 6-0 visiting run put a cap on the second frame at 25-15.

Much like the first set, Samson ran out to a fast start and built a 4-0 lead in the third set. Regan delivered another kill to get Florala on the board, and Savannah Jones notched an ace to slice the gap back to 6-4. Both teams continued to give it their all as the Tigers eventually built a 13-9 margin. The Wildcats roared back with authority and seized some momentum with a 5-0 run. Two aces from Odom evened the score at 13-13 before Jones blistered a kill for a 14-13 lead. The two sides continued changing hands with the lead. An ace by Varner gave FHS its final advantage at 16-15. SHS stormed back to lead 23-19 and finished off the sweep, 25-21.

In the first match, Samson rallied back for a 2-1 win over the Florala junior varsity (2-3). The Wildcats won the opening set 25-17 before the Tigers evened the contest, 25-20. FHS held a big lead in the decisive third set, but SHS came back to edge out a 15-12 win.

The Florala junior high team (2-1) did not play Thursday but picked up a big win Tuesday at Geneva County.