By Matt Cole

The Demopolis Times

The Demopolis High School volleyball team hosted area rival Selma High School on Tuesday and came away with a victory in four sets.

Selma came off the bus ready to play and won the first set of the night, but Demopolis rebounded to win the next three sets in a row to take the match.

“We never showed up tonight,” Selma head coach Melissa White said. “We just didn’t come to play.”

In the first set of the night, Selma took an early lead, but Demopolis kept battling and kept the score close. After falling behind 7-4, the Lady Tigers scored four straight points off of Ivery Moore serves. The teams went back and forth throughout the set before the Lady Saints pulled away at the end for a 25-22 win.

Demopolis came out hot in the second set to take an early 10-3 lead. The Lady Saints fought hard to keep the score close, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit. Caleb Washington made big plays at the net for the Lady Tigers to help them toward the win in the set 25-20.

The third set started much like the second set with Demopolis jumping out to a big 9-1 lead early behind the serves of Moore and Jade Montgomery. Selma came back with J’knesha Rogers serving to pull within two, but Demopolis kept the pressure on the Lady Saints and never allowed them to come all the way back. The Lady Tigers held off a Selma rally late in the set to secure a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth and final set, Demopolis fell behind early, but never got discouraged. The Lady Tigers took control and came away with a 25-17 win to take the match 3-1.

“We didn’t let up throughout the match,” Demopolis head coach Blythe Smith said. “The girls knew what happened last time we played them, so they were determined not to let them back in the game. We played with a sense of emergency.”

With the win, Demopolis improves its record to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the area with two area matches left. They split the season series with Selma.

The Lady Saints are 4-1 in the area with one area match left.

Selma will play at Lee on Oct. 3, their second game in a stretch of four consecutive road contests.