Tom Dodge
It was only a scrimmage, but the Lady Jays and Lady Bobcats battled on the volleyball court Thursday at St. Edmund’s gym.
In close matches, St. Edmund earned a 3-1 win over Eunice High, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19 and 15-13.
St. Edmund entertains Crowley at 4 p.m. Wednesday, in the regular season opener, while Eunice hosts Westgate.
No fans are allowed at the games due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
In the first game, Eunice had a strong start with the Lady Cats jumping out to an 8-3 lead taking advantage of several early Lady Jay errors.
St. Edmund began to close the gap on a kill by Savannah DeVillier and an ace by Anna Belle Fontenot.
The Lady Jays later forced an 11-11 tie on kills by Gracie Savoy and DeVillier.
The game would be tied twice more before St. Ed’s went on a 6-1 run to grab a 19-15 lead.
A pair of kills by Mary Beth Lafleur and a block by DeVillier pushed the Lady Jays ahead, 21-18.
After a SEH serve error, Eunice’s Gabbie Mitchell has a well-placed ace to keep the Lady Cats in the game.
But the Lady Jays rallied for a 4-0 run including a spike by Ellie Manuel to push St. Ed’s up 23-20.
Errors would seal the 25-21 win for the Lady Jays.
Eunice would respond in the second game to grab a 25-22 victory, sparked by a 5-2 start.
Mitchell had a block and a kill for the Lady Cats, but spikes by Rebecca Benoit and Fontenot helped the Lady Jays keep the game close.
St. Edmund went on a 4-0 run to force an 10-10 tie including a block by DeVillier.
The game was tied twice four more times before the Lady Cats pushed ahead, 17-15 on kill by Madison Freeman and SEH errors.
Eunice increased its lead to 22-18 before the Lady Jays responded with a kill by Fontenot and a dink by Sarah Duplechin followed by an ace from Manuel.
The Lady Cats would seal the win on a SEH service error and a Lady Jay hit out of bounds.
The third match was also competitive as neither team could grab a sizeable lead.
The game was tied 5-5 on a kill by SEH’s Benoit, while an ace by Gabbie Mitchell, a dink by Madison Freeman and a Lady Jay error allowed Eunice to force a 10-10 tie.
The game was tied twice again before St. Ed’s went on a 5-0 run including an ace by DeVillier and a block by Fontenot.
After Eunice closed the gap to 17-14, SEH answered with another 5-0 run sparked by two kills by Benoit followed by an ace from Duplechin.
Errors by both teams closed out the match as St. Ed’s pulled out a 25-19 victory.
As with every match of the night, the two teams battled in the fourth set before St. Edmund earned a 15-13 win.
The game was close throughout as neither team led by more than three points.
Eunice pushed ahead 12-9 before the Lady Jays forced a 12-12 tie.
St. Edmund then closed the win with a kill by DeVillier and a well-placed hit by Julia Zaunbrecher.
In junior varsity action, St. Edmund grabbed a 2-1 victory over the Lady Cats as the Lady Jay won 25-10 and 25-20 before Eunice grabbed a 25-19 victory.
The two teams will face each other twice in the season as Eunice will play host to the Lady Jays on Sept. 21, while St. Ed’s will entertain the Lady Cats on Oct. 3.