HANCEVILLE, Ala. — The Hanceville Bulldogs hosted J.B. Pennington for an area match Tuesday night but unfortunately for the home crowd, the Tigers were able to return home with a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs.
J.B. Pennington 3 – Hanceville 1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22)
It was close to start out the first set. J.B. Pennington held a slim 7-4 lead, but back-to-back aces by Bentley Childers helped Hanceville tie things up at seven. The Lady Tigers grabbed a 10-8 lead, but Alex Twitty collected a point to cut it to one. J.B. Pennington, though, went on a 6-0 run to stretch their lead to 15-9. A Childers kill made it a 17-12 contest more than halfway through the first set, but another big run by the Lady Tigers helped them widen their lead to 24-14. They held off a mini rally attempt by the Lady Bulldogs to take the first set 25-16.
The second set saw J.B. Pennington jump out to a quick 4-0 lead and quickly extended their lead to 8-2. Hanceville came roaring back into the game, as Eva Giles (kill) and Childers (ace) helped them cut it to 9-7. Giles collected a kill, and she followed that up with an ace to make it a 14-10 game later in the second set. The Lady Tigers, though, went on another run to give them an 18-12 lead. For the second time in the set, the Lady Bulldogs went on a big run to get back in the game. A pair of aces by Twitty, a point by Josi Jones, and a kill by Childers gave them a 19-18 lead. It went back-and-forth for the rest of the set, but in the end, a late push by Hanceville helped them take the second set 25-23.
The Lady Bulldogs carried that momentum over into the third set, as a pair of kills by Bella McAfee helped them get out to an early 4-0 lead. J.B. Pennington went on a run of their own to cut it to 7-5, but a kill by Giles gave Hanceville an 8-5 lead. Five straight points by the Lady Tigers, though, gave them a 10-8 lead. It stayed close after that, with neither team holding more than a one-point lead until the end. Twitty’s kill gave the Lady Bulldogs a 18-17 lead, but J.B. Pennington collected the next five points to take a 22-18 lead. McAfee delivered a big kill, and that was followed up with an ace by Eden Clements, as that made it a 22-20 game. The Lady Tigers, though, ended up winning the third set 25-21.
Just like the second set, J.B. Pennington got out to an early 5-1 lead in the fourth set and quickly increased their lead to 9-3. Like they been doing all day, Hanceville battled their way back into the game. Lexi Link delivered a big ace, and Giles finished off their 6-0 run with a point to tie it up at nine. It’d been a battle between both teams through the first three sets, and this set was no different. Hanceville tied things up at 17, but J.B. Pennington scored the next five points to grab a 22-17 lead. The Lady Tigers held a 23-18 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs were far from done, though. Jones collected a kill, and later in the set, back-to-back points by Clements and Jones cut it to 23-22. J.B. Pennington was able to collect the final two points of the set to win the set 25-22 and take the match 3-1.
Hanceville will now start preparing for their upcoming area tournament.
