BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
In an early season Suwannee Middle School Athletic Conference matchup, Bradford Middle School’s eighth-grade volleyball team remained undefeated with a 2-0 (25-7, 25-22) win over Lake Butler Middle School’s A team on Sept. 18 in Starke.
The match was a double-header, which opened with Bradford’s seventh-grade team defeating Lake Butler’s B team 2-0 (25-15, 25-14).
Bradford’s eighth-grade team (5-0, 2-0 SMAC) scored four straight points with Autumn DeKorver serving to take an 8-2 lead in the first set. It was 12-5 in favor of the Tornadoes when they scored nine points with Manduo Wei serving. Three points during that span came off powerful swings by DeKorver as Bradford built a 16-point lead.
A Katherine Brugh kill gave the Tornadoes their 24th point before DeKorver recorded a kill for the set-winning point.
Lake Butler (4-2, 4-1) got a service ace and a kill from Morgan Smith early in the second set as the Tigers led 4-3. After Bradford’s Tatum Burkhalter had a kill for side-out, the Tornadoes scored four straight points with Burkhalter serving to go up 9-6.
It was a 10-8 game in favor of the Tornadoes when they scored four points with Wei serving. DeKorver had a kill during that stretch to help Bradford build a six-point lead.
Smith had a pair of kills for the Tigers, but Bradford continued to hold onto its lead. Lake Butler trailed 20-13 before getting two aces from Smith and scoring three straight points.
A Lake Butler service error put Bradford one point away from winning the match, but a back-row kill by Smith gave the Tigers the serve trailing 24-20.
Lake Butler was able to score two points before a service error resulted in the Bradford win.
The game between the younger teams saw the Tornadoes (3-1) get off to a fast start. They scored the first two points with Kelsey Padgett serving and never looked back, scoring nine of the first 12 points of the first set.
Leading 20-13, Bradford scored four straight points with Kendra Griffis serving, with one of those points coming off an ace.
Cayson Hampton’s kill ended the set.
The Tigers’ Latoya Hampton had two aces to help Lake Butler score the first three points of the second set. Bradford would take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish when it scored four points with Padgett serving. Raelynn Alexander had a kill during a six-point stretch with Jordan Padelford serving that put the Tornadoes up 13-4.
Ivy Wilson recorded two blocks for Lake Butler, but the Tornadoes would continue to pull away.
Elaina Smith had a kill late in the set to put Bradford ahead 21-11. Later, with a 23-14 lead, the Tornadoes closed it out behind two service points from Padgett.
