Meadowview Christian opened regular season play Tuesday with a dominant three-set victory over Clay County Christian.

Playing their first home game since finishing third in the Alabama Christian Athletic Association state tournament last season, the Trojans showed they might again be one of the teams to beat.

In a match that came down to serving, Meadowview was more consistent and ran away for a 25-8, 25-18, 25-12 victory.

“For the first game, it wasn’t too bad,” said Meadowview Christian coach Tim Burton said. “I didn’t see as much as I wanted to see, especially volleying balls. I saw some [volleys] in the later part. They are pretty close to where I want them. I’ve got a few kinks I’m trying to iron out, but they’re pretty close. I think we’re going to be alright.”

Meadowview jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first set behind strong serving from Emily Skelton, a returnee from last season’s team.  Burton said Skelton was among the standouts in Tuesday’s opener.

“She’s been working really hard, and she’s got that serve down,” Burton said. “I holler at her all the time about moving her feet, but other than that she’s pretty solid.”

The Trojans closed the first set with four straight serves by Alyssa Verhoff for a convincing win.

Meadowview again jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the second set with strong serving by Mallory Freine, but Clay County made it interesting in the closing stages. Clay closed the gap to 20-15 when Meadowview got a bit sloppy with its serving.

“They lost focus, plus I had three bad serves in a row,” Burton said. “That’ll kill you.”

The Trojans, a team returning three starters from last season, didn’t let up though.

Meadowview jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the third set and held on to close out the match.

Tayler Roberts, Verhoff and Skelton did most of the serving for Meadowview in the third.

The Trojans return starters Christina Dabit, Maggie Tipton and Freine from last season’s team but showed Tuesday they have plenty of girls ready to step in and contribute.

“I had some on the bench that I felt probably could’ve started last year, but they couldn’t start over the ones I had,” Burton said.

The Trojans had already showed their ability by finishing third at a preseason tournament at Trinity Christian and in a victory over rival Morgan Academy in a scrimmage. With those games behind them, Meadowview didn’t have a lot of mishaps Tuesday. Burton said he wants the Trojans to do a better job of controlling the ball, but was pleased overall.

Meadowview hosts Chilton Christian at home Thursday at 4 p.m.