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Morristown West captured the first match in the city championship volleyball series with a thrilling five-set victory over cross-town rival East Tuesday night at Michael R. Reed Gymnasium.

The Lady Trojans jumped out to a quick lead in the decisive fifth set and racked up a 15-6 win after the teams split the first four games.

East rallied from six points down to take the first set, 26-24, before the Lady Trojans survived six set-points and claimed game two, 29-27. West also took the third set, 25-23, before the Lady Hurricanes won 25-19 to force the deciding set.

It was the third victory against a single loss for Coach Lacey Price Evans’ Lady Trojans while East slipped to 3-3 for the season.

Brie Blevins had a great night at the net to lead the Lady Trojans to victory. Blevins knocked down 13 kills and recorded a staggering nine blocked shots in the victory.

Aubrie Messer added 10 kills for West and also served four aces in the win. Bella Forte had five kills while Haley Cabe, Delaney Weddington and Emmah Long all had four. Emma Miller also had four aces for the winners.

The Lady Hurricanes’ sophomore Riley Forester hammered a career-high 21 kills to lead the attack. Reagan Forester added 13 kills and had two aces for East.

Hailey Hall chipped in six kills and a pair of aces while Mackenzie Jarnagin had five kills. Lilabeth Jordan served four aces for East while Jarnigan and Hannah Hall had two blocks apiece.

Evans said, “That was an amazing match for both teams. It was neck-and-neck all five games. We had to truly earn the points every step of the way.

“Brie had a great game on the net,” added the coach. “When she’s on, she’s on and it’s a beautiful thing to see. Both of our middles had great games. Aubrie had some key serves at crucial points.”

East’s Courtney Dotson remarked, “It’s tough because those first sets when we were out on top we should have pushed through. I thought we could have won the first two sets and could have been in control.

“Riley played really well for us,” Dotson said. “She’s been very consistent for us and I felt totally confident every time we set for her.’

Dotson said, “I thought they hurt us on the short set and they blocked so many shots it made a big difference.”

In the opening set, East led 4-3 when the Lady Trojans scored six straight points. The home team stretched its lead to six points and was still on top by that margin at 22-16 when the Lady Hurricanes mounted a rally.

Reagan Forester had a kill and then served an ace as East ran off five straight. After West scored, Riley Forester had two kills to tie the count at 23-23.

The Lady Trojans took the lead but Harmony Sullivan had a kill to tie the game before Hailey Hall nailed a kill and Jarnigan blocked a shot for the deciding point.

East jumped in front 5-2 in the second set and then got two kills from Reagan Forester to open a 10-5 lead.

However, Long and Forte knocked down kills, Blevins blocked a shot and Sydney Price served an ace as the Lady Trojans rallied to tie the game at 11-11.

Three kills by Riley Forester and one each by Jarnigan and Hailey Hall led the Lady ‘Canes back to a 20-14 lead and East eventually went in front 24-19 on a kill by Reagan Forester and a block by Hannah Hall.

But West refused to fold. Blevins hammered two kills and Forte added one in a six-point run. Kills by Riley Forester and Hailey Hall gave East another set-point but Cabe’s kill tied it again.

Riley Forester’s kill gave the Lady Hurricanes one final set point but Weddington and Cabe had kills and the final point came when the ball hit the ceiling.

East grabbed another early lead in the third game and led 6-2. But the Lady Trojans caught up at 9-9 on a kill by Cabe.

After that, there were six ties and three lead changes with the Lady Trojans taking the lead for good at 17-16 on Price’s ace. West scored again to go in front by two and went on to lead 23-20.

Riley Forester had two more kills to get East within a point before Long had a kill for West. The Lady ‘Canes closed back within one but Long scored on a dink to put the home team ahead by a set.

It was the Lady Trojans who jumped ahead in the fourth set as they built an 8-1 margin before East started chipping at the lead.

The lead was 10-5 when Reagan Forester had a kill and then served a pair of aces as East grabbed the lead at 11-10. The teams traded points until East tied it at 17-17 and then added five more points as Jordan served a pair of aces.

A kill by Riley Forester ended the set.

Both teams started the fifth set with a pair of hitting errors but Messer knocked two straight kills and Forte added another to spark a 8-1 run by the Lady Trojans and East couldn’t get closer than five the rest of the match.

West scored the final four points of the match.