STARKVILLE — Starkville High School volleyball coach Sierra Horel has never seen the Yellow Jackets play like they did Thursday against Caledonia before.
But she’d sure like to see it again.
After trying something new during Wednesday’s practice, the Jackets emerged an improved squad, beat Caledonia (1-2) in straight sets and improved to 3-0 on the season. Set scores were 25-22, 25-15 and 25-22.
“That’s not a team I’ve ever seen before,” the second-year coach said, “so that’s what I want to keep seeing.”
Her Starkville squad showed it was different late in the first set after a slow but sizable Caledonia comeback. With the score tied 16-16 and the Jackets a bit put off by the unusual heat in the Starkville gym, Horel called timeout.
The two teams battled to three more ties, but at 20-20, Starkville pulled away, winning five of the next seven points to claim the first set.
“They learned to finally finish,” Horel said. “That’s what I needed from them.”
Brayland Ferguson had two kills late in the set and finished with four in the match, while senior Jakailyn Brown had a team-high seven. While the duo always plays well, they were even better Thursday, their coach said.
“They still exceeded my expectations of them tonight by far,” Horel said.
Ferguson, Brown and senior Kyler Reeves, who had four kills, led the Jackets to a smoother second set. Starkville led by as many as 13 points at 17-4, 19-6 and 23-10 as it went up 2-0 easily.
Caledonia fell behind again early in the third set, trailing 11-4, but coach Samantha Brooks’ team fought back. Senior Megan Chandler had multiple huge kills, and Caledonia tied up the set at 15-15 on an ace by Emma McKee.
But Kordelia Bergstrom missed a shot into the net on the following point, ending a long rally and giving Starkville the lead back. The misfire broke the tension as Starkville won the next four points, culminating in an impressive dual block by Ferguson and Abigail Musselwhite.
Caledonia fought to get the set back to 24-22, but another error sealed the match for the Jackets.
Horel said she was glad to get a sweep of a team that made the MHSAA Class 4A semifinals last season and against whom there’s long been competition.
“Caledonia’s always been our rival, even though we’re not in the same district,” Horel said. “We love playing them.”
Horel credited the Jackets’ play to a preseason jamboree against Tupelo and Caledonia, which helped Starkville acclimate against tough competition despite losing most of its summer to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since we didn’t have much of a practice, it really helped us to see what we needed to work on, especially since we hadn’t really been able to play anybody,” she said.
Karlie Brooks led the Jackets with eight digs, while Brown had six blocks and Ferguson had five.
For Caledonia, Libby McMurphey led with seven kills, and Chandler had six.
Zoe Hansen had 18 digs, and Emily Clark had 14 digs and a team-high 19 assists.
Other scores
New Hope 3, Choctaw County 0
NEW HOPE — New Hope volleyball improved to 3-0 on the season with a sweep of Choctaw County on Thursday in the Trojans’ home opener.
Set scores were 25-5, 25-5 and 25-14.
Daylyn Nettles led New Hope with 14 kills, while Micaela Hudgins had nine.
Kensley Woolbright had seven aces and 11 digs to lead the team. Annie Woolbright had a team-leading 21 assists.
Grace Christian 3, Heritage Academy 0
LOUISVILLE — Heritage Academy was swept by Grace Christian in Thursday’s road match in Louisville.
Set scores were 25-15, 25-7 and 25-13.
The Patriots will host Winston Academy on Sept. 8.
Prep Softball
Hebron Christian 14, Oak Hill Academy 13
WEST POINT — Hebron Christian School softball outlasted Oak Hill Academy 14-13 on Thursday in West Point.
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the top of the third before the Raiders got four runs back in the bottom of the inning. Hebron had four runs in the fourth, but Oak Hill answered with five more.
Oak Hill scored once in the fifth and sixth and twice in the seventh but came up one run short.
Oak Hill’s Carley Wooten led all hitters with three hits, while teammate Raylee Craven hit a grand slam and drove in five runs.
Aubrey Eaton of Hebron and Morgan Dabbs of Oak Hill each had two hits. Oak Hill’s Kara Reed drove in four runs, and Katelyn Hill of Hebron drove in three.
Other scores
East Rankin Academy 13, Heritage Academy 3
Starkville Academy 9, Kemper Academy 1
Prep Girls Soccer
Bayou Academy 1, Starkville Academy 0
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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