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Thursday’s volleyball match between Morristown West and Grainger was a contrast in experience as the Lady Trojans are a veteran team while the Lady Grizzlies have younger players in key positions.

West, who returns all but two starters from last year’s squad, used that experience in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-18) win over the Lady Grizzlies.

In the first game of the three-game set, Grainger was firing on all cylinders as they opened a 7-2 lead in the early going. West got going and came back to take their first lead at 11-10 and then both teams settled in for a see-saw affair. The score was tied at 20-20 and still very much anyone’s game but the Lady Trojans were able to grab the momentum and pull away for a 25-22 win. “In that first set, Grainger jumped out great but then it became more of a back and forth game and we were able to pull it together for the win,” West head coach Lacey Evans said.

Game two featured strong serve play by West as the Lady Trojans picked up multiple points off aces. At one point in the match, Haley Cabe had three in a row and added another ace two serves later as the Lady Trojans doubled up the Lady Grizz at 18-9. She finished with a team-high four aces. The West defense held Grainger to only one point after that as they went up 2-0 with a 25-10 decision. “Serving was key tonight by several players,” Evans said. “Haley had quite a few and serving definitely worked in our favor.”

In the third and final game of the evening, West turned to Brie Blevins who was strong at the net to give West a 25-18 win and the match. The Lady Grizzlies had trouble getting anything going against Blevins who seemed to always be in position for a key block at the right time for the Lady Trojans. “Brie was a beast in the net in the third game. Nothing was getting by her and it was pretty awesome to watch,” Evans said.

Grainger head coach Jessica Maxey loaded up the front end of the schedule to give her young team a look at more experienced teams in an attempt to get the Lady Grizzlies ready for district play which starts next week. Grainger played West, East, Science Hill and Tennessee High this week and Maxey said she is hopeful facing that kind of competition early in the season will help them down the road. “I told our team that I was pretty sure this was going to be a tough week. We have a tough district and tough region and this is how you get better: you play the best in the region above us.”

Delaney Weddington led the West attack with 10 kills and Sydney Price finished the contest with 16 assists. Kenzie Collins had 15 digs for the Lady Trojans with Blevins and Emma Long notching three blocks each.