Submitted

The Lady Wildcats defeated Aynor Thursday night in a five set, two and a half hour marathon match to open region play.

After dropping the first set 21-25, Dillon rebounded in the second set with a 25-21 win of their own. Aynor was winning the battle at the net with more kills and blocks than Dillon, mixing up their offensive attacks and defensive alignment.

Down 21-24 in set three, the Lady Cats regained the serve with a Zipporah Lighty block. Taylor Price stepped up to serve down two set points and served four straight points including an ace to tie the set at 24. Aynor regained the serve with a kill to tie the set at 25.

Dillon had four more set points and Aynor had two more set points before Price stepped up to serve again with the game tied at 31.

After a long rally, Lighty tipped for a kill to give the Lady Cats their sixth set point. Price served a deep ball to the right side of the court and the Lady Jacket’s attack went into the net.

Price, Dallas Rowell, Darby Hamer, Hannah McMillan, Pam Robinson, and Rebecca Callahan each had game saving digs in the 33-31 game.

Players from both teams were dealing with cramps and exhaustion, but neither team gave up. In yet another long, hard fought set, Aynor won the fourth 25-21.

In the final set, the Lady Jackets won the coin toss and elected to serve. They promptly scored the first three points with a kill and two Dillon errors. Down 2-4, Dillon scored the next three points with a kill and two blocks by Lighty. Aynor kept the score close with three kills of their own, but the Lady Wildcats refused to lose. Dillon took the final set 15-9 with an ace by Lighty, kills from Callahan and Celmer, and a match winning ace by Shayna Covington. It took a total team effort to pick up the win.

Other team members contributing to the team’s success were Brandie Buckner, Breana Park, and Dezirae Wright.

Dillon’s record improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the region.

Dillon was scheduled to host Marlboro County on Monday in the first of a string of home games that includes a match against Mullins on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. and a match with Marion on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

JUNIOR VARSITY

The junior varsity Lady Cats defeated Aynor 2-0 on Thursday to remain undefeated. Set scores were 25-11 and 25-14.

Da’Kerhia Samuel led the offense with three kills and five aces. Nakedra Page had two kills and an ace. Shaquailla German had a kill and an ace. Leah McMillan and Holly Vaughn each had two aces.

The team is now 6-0. On Monday they were scheduled to host Marlboro County, and on Tuesday, September 27, they’ll travel to Loris for a 5:00 p.m. matchup against the junior varsity Lions.