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Two cross-county rivals took the court in area play as Pleasant Home earned a 3-0 sweep at Red Level in a varsity volleyball match Thursday, Sept. 7.

The Lady Eagles, ranked fourth in the state, moved to 5-2 overall and 2-0 against 1A Area 2 foes with a 25-7, 25-21, 25-8 win. The Lady Tigers fell to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in area play.

“This is a really long but positive week for us. We just came off a three-set sweep over Kinston on Tuesday and hope we can push out about five matches in a tournament on Saturday. I thought we hit the ball and passed the ball really well tonight. We didn’t have a whole lot of passing errors and were able to set the ball better, which in turn lets us hit the ball better,” PHS Head Coach Tony Wilson said.

SET ONE
Kayden Lord gave Red Level a 1-0 lead with an ace in the first set, but Hailey Ward evened the score at 2-2 with a kill. Ward gave Pleasant Home a 5-2 lead with a block. The Lady Tigers rallied back and forced a 5-5 tie but ultimately ran into a tough go the remainder of the set. The Lady Eagles scored six of the next eight points for an 11-7 lead and took a 1-0 lead with the final 14 points. Ward had a kill and three aces during the offensive spree, while Meredith Wilson and Bri Hall combined for three kills.

SET TWO
Baylee Henderson gave Pleasant Home a 3-1 advantage with an ace in a competitive second set. Zoey Phillips cut the deficit to 7-4 with a block, and Bailey Green brought the score to 8-6 on an ace. Trailing 11-9, Red Level went on a surge as Victoria Walker delivered a kill for a 14-13 lead. The score swelled to 18-14 until Ward hit consecutive aces and evened the score at 18-18. Kamry Lambert executed a kill for a 19-18 lead, but momentum swung back the other way when two kills from Wilson pushed the score to 21-19. Following a kill by Ward for set point, Wilson sealed a 2-0 lead with an ace.

SET THREE
The Lady Eagles led the entire third set and grabbed an early 2-0 lead. Kayden Weaver stretched the cushion to 5-2, while Ward scored two aces for an 11-4 margin. Weaver added another kill for a 17-6 lead, and Ivy Youngblood used back-to-back aces for a 20-6 lead. Lord brought the score to 20-8 with an ace, but it was not enough for the Lady Tigers to overcome.

Both teams will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 9, in a tournament hosted by Straughn.

Red Level plays in the high school gym at 8:30 a.m. against Straughn, 11:30 a.m. against Kinston, and 1:30 p.m. against Brantley.

Pleasant Home takes the middle school court at 8:30 a.m. against Andalusia, 12:30 p.m. against Samson, and 1:30 p.m. against Geneva.