BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Union County High School went 4-1 in the Sept. 13-14 Jacksonville Juniors Volleyball Association River City Classic, giving the Tigers eight wins in their last nine matches.
The Tigers (9-5) began play with a 2-1 (22-25, 25-21, 15-10) win over Class 1A Christ’s Church Academy, followed by a 2-0 (25-13, 25-17) loss to Class 6A Viera.
Union bounced back with a 3-0 showing on Sept. 14, beginning with a 2-0 (25-15, 25-18) win over Class 3A Keystone Heights. Jailyn Simmons had nine kills, while Layla Barber and Morgan Smith each had six. Barber also recorded four service aces.
Bella Johns and Kamryn Southerland each had 10 digs, with Southerland leading the team in assists with 15.
Southerland recorded another double-double in a 2-0 (25-19, 25-21) win over Class 1A St. Johns Country Day with 10 assists and 10 digs.
Johns led the team in digs with 18.
Simmons and Indi Knox recorded nine and eight kills, respectively, while Barber had seven. Simmons added three blocks to her totals, while Knox had 12 digs.
Abigail Williams had nine assists.
The Tigers finally dropped a set on the tournament’s second day, but were still victorious, defeating Class 5A St. Augustine 2-1 (25-17, 22-25, 15-12). Knox had 14 digs and 10 kills, while Southerland had 15 assists and 10 digs.
Simmons had 10 kills, seven digs and two blocks, while Smith and Barber recorded seven and six kills, respectively.
Johns led the team in digs with 15.
Union entered the tournament off a 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 15-25, 25-19) win over Class 4A Baker County on Sept. 12 in Lake Butler, getting 18 kills, seven digs and six blocks from Simmons.
It was just Baker’s second loss.
Smith and Knox had 12 and 10 kills, respectively, with Smith also recording four blocks and Knox adding 15 digs and three aces.
Barber had eight kills and four aces.
Johns recorded a team-high 20 digs, with the Tigers also getting 12 from Southerland, 10 from Bayley Staier and six from Shaley Maloney.
Southerland also had 21 assists and three aces.
The Tigers host Branford on Monday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m., following a junior varsity match at 5:30 p.m. Union then travels to play Keystone on Tuesday, Sept. 17, with the JV teams playing at 6 p.m. and the varsity teams playing at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, Union hosts Lafayette at 6 p.m., following a 5 p.m. JV match.
