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Morristown East bounced back from a tough five-set loss to their crosstown rivals earlier in the week to notch a win over Sevier County Thursday night 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20).

After the first game, the remaining three were close throughout with each team rallying late to claim the set. East’s victory over Sevier County evens their record at 1-1 in district play and makes their overall tally 4-3 on the young season.

“I think on our serving end, it really got us ahead in the first game,” East head coach Courtney Dotson said. “The past few days in practice, we have been talking about getting behind the service line and putting the ball in there where the other teams have to get out of rhythm. In that first game, we really executed that.”

East started the match strong in game one as they scored they the first four points in a row and later had eight points in a row to go up 12-3. The Lady Smoky Bears never recovered in the first game and East cruised to a 25-15 win.

Game two was a repeat of the first as the Lady Hurricanes came out of the gate with four straight points. This time, however, Sevier County countered and came back to double up East at 12-6. The visitors’ point spread ballooned to 11 late in the match at 22-11 before East responded with nine in a row to make things interesting. The Lady Smoky Bears were able to close out the second game for the 25-20 victory.

The third game was close throughout as both teams claimed what seemed like a comfortable lead, only to see the other rally to narrow the gap. East built a 19-15 advantage but the Sevierville visitors tied the game at 20-20. The Lady Canes stiffened the defense the remainder of the game and prevailed 25-21.

‘Whenever we are able to spread the ball around, I think we are more successful,” Dotson said of game three. “We aren’t the biggest team out there but I will say that we can play some defense most nights. Being able to pull that game out was really important for us.”

Game four was even more of a battle than the previous two as the lead swapped hands or was tied 14 times early on. East’s biggest lead came at 14-10 and 18-14 but each time, the Lady Smoky Bears had an answer to climb back into things. The Lady Canes sealed the deal in the final serves to win game four 25-20 and the match 3-1.

“I was glad we were able to pull away for that one,” Dotson stated. “We are in a tough conference and Sevier County has taken games from some really good teams and every single night is going to be a battle.”

West volleyball picks up sweep of South Greene

Morristown West volleyball kept their winning ways going on Thursday evening, sweeping South Greene (25-15, 26-24, 25-9).

With the win, the Lady Trojans improved to 4-1 on the season.

West was led in the match by Haley Cabe with nine kills and nine blocks, while Emma Miller and Sydney Price each had 14 assists. Price had two aces as well while Miller had three aces.

Other contributors for West included Kenzie Collins with eight digs, Bella Forte with six kills, Aubrie Messer with six kills and two aces, Brie Blevins with four blocks and five kills, Delaney Weddington with three blocks and three kills and Emmah Long with five kills.

West will be back in action next Tuesday when they travel to take on Sevier County.