Lady Tigers Start 2-0

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove began the 2019 volleyball season on a good note by posting nonconference victories over Lincoln and West Fork. Now the Lady Tigers are gearing up for a showdown with No. 1 rival, Farmington, on Thursday at Cardinal Arena.

Prairie Grove swept Lincoln 3-0 in the seasonopener for both schools on Aug. 26. The first two sets featured some competitive action with Lincoln taking leads of 5-3 and 13-10 before Kelsey Pickett’s ace for the Lady Tigers. Lincoln regained the lead but Madison Hutchison served up an ace to knot the score at 16-all and Prairie Grove won 25-20 in game one.

Game two was tied at 18-18. Pickett’s ace sparked a 7-2 Lady Tiger run capped by Lexi Light’s kill as Prairie Grove claimed another, 25-20, win in game two. The third set wasn’t nearly as tight with the Lady Tigers pulling away 25-10 to record the sweep at home.

On Thursday, Prairie Grove hosted West Fork in a match that took a completely opposite tone. The Lady Tigers got early offense as Samantha Blosser opened with back-toback aces. A pair of aces from Pickett extended the lead to 8-2. Sydney Stearman passed to Kennedy Conrad playing outside hitter for a kill and Prairie Grove won game one handily, 25-10.

Teamwork between Pickett (dig) and Hutchison (assist) along the front line resulted in a pass back to Pickett for the kill as the Lady Tigers took game two, 25-20.

The third set was tied at 25-25 when heroines emerged for Prairie Grove. Light set up Emily Traylor, who pounded the ball home for the kill giving the Lady Tigers a 26-25 edge and reaching match-point. Abigail Ingram served up a coup to polish off the match with Prairie Grove battling through to a 27-25 win in game three.