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By Brandon Sumrall/ Special to the Advertiser

A varsity volleyball matchup between Jemison and Holtville on Sept. 22 would take all five sets to decide before the visiting Bulldogs would come away with a three to two (27-25;23-25;25-27;25-21;15-13) victory over the Panthers.

Set one of the matchup started out all Panthers as Jemison used a pair of 5-0 runs to jump out to an early 11-3 lead. The Bulldogs would battle back behind the serving of Kelsey Franklin to make it a three point, 14-11 Jemison lead. America Gutierrez would later extend the Panther lead to six from her serving position, but the Bulldogs would answer with a run of their own and would take a one point, 25-24 lead. Jemison would manage to tie the set at 25, but two consecutive from Holtville would give the Bulldogs a 27-25 set one win.

Holtville had the hot hand through the early moments of the second set as Zyon Smoke led a 5-0 run that gave the Bulldogs an early 6-0 lead. Jemison battled back to make it a two point game and would later tie the game at 18-all thanks to an ace from Kinsley Martin. Holtville answered with two of their own while a three point run lead by Kyndal Bolton would put Jemison out in front by one. The teams played through a 21 all tie before a ball hit out of bounds by the bulldogs gave Jemison a 25-23 set two victory.

Set three was a back and forth battle from the opening serve as the score would progress through a 9-all tie. A pair of three point runs by the Bulldogs along with one from the Panthers pushed Holtville out in front by five, while a later run led by Smith would make it a 19-15 Bulldog lead. With Jemison unable to cut further into the Holtville lead, the Bulldogs would go on to a 25-17 set three win.

The Bulldog momentum continue into set four of the matchup as Holtville started the set with a 7-2 run. Jemison answer with a three point run led by Martin while later adding a kill to make it a 9-all game. Makayla Lang add a kill on the Panther run to put Jemison out in front by two and would later lead a 5-0 run to give Jemison a 20-11 lead. The Panther lead grew to as much as seven before a late run by Holtville would make it a 24-21 Jemison lead. With the Panthers setting on match point, a kill by Lang would give Jemison a 25-21 win for set four.

The fifth and final set of the match would be determined by a series of runs. The Bulldogs started the set with 4-0 run, with the Panthers answering with a 3-0 run of their own. Another 3-0 run by Holtville put the Bulldogs up by four, while a late run by the Panthers tied the set at nine. Karsyn Findley and Jaclyn Lowery would take turns leading 5-0 runs for their respective teams that would bring the score to 14-13 and with a ball served out of bound by the Panthers, the Bulldogs would take a deciding 15-13 set five victory.