BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Union County High School’s volleyball team won its second straight match, defeating visiting Bradford 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-18) on Aug. 28.
The Tigers (2-1) led 9-6 when they scored five points with Layla Barber serving. Barber had an ace during the sequence, while Indi Knox and Rylie Parrish each had one kill.
Bradford (1-1) got blocks from Ar’Nayshia Griffin and Ajaya Jackson to force two side-outs late in the set, but the Tornadoes couldn’t take advantage of those opportunities, committing service errors immediately following each side-out.
Leading 23-13, the Tigers closed it out with Kamryn Southerland serving. Both points came off errors, with Knox making a nice dig of a Bradford attack for the 24th point.
A pair of Reagan Harris kills with Kinley Burkhalter serving gave the Tornadoes a 9-8 lead in the second set. Barber and Parrish then had kills to help Union go up 13-11.
Simmons had a kill during a three-point stretch with Jurney Crim serving as the Tigers took a 16-11 lead. Bradford rallied, scoring five points with Raelynn Moore serving to go up 17-16. Moore scored one point off an ace, while Jackson recorded a kill for another point.
Union trailed 19-18 before scoring five points with Knox serving. Barber had two kills as the Tigers went up 23-19.
A Chloe Anderson ace was one of two points the Tornadoes scored to make it a 24-22 game before a service error gave Union the win.
Jackson had a kill and two blocks for Bradford early in the third set, but the Tigers held a slim lead before scoring five points with Barber serving. A Barber ace and a Knox kill helped Union go up 14-8.
Kills by Griffin and Jackson, as well as a block by Jackson, prevented the Tornadoes from falling further behind. Bradford trailed 21-16 before scoring two points with Harris serving.
The Tigers closed out the match with three straight points off a Knox kill, a Parrish tip and a Barber ace.
Simmons and Knox led Union in kills with nine and eight, respectively. Simmons also had three aces, as did Barber.
Jordan Hendricks and Southerland had 11 and nine assists, respectively, while Crim led the Tigers in digs with 12. Bella Johns added eight digs.
Bradford got 11 blocks and 12 kills from Jackson, while Griffin had six blocks and six kills. Rylie Blankenship had 16 digs.
Due to Hurricane Idalia, the Tigers’ Thursday, Aug. 31, match at Dixie County won’t take place. Union returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 5, with a home match against Keystone Heights at 7 p.m. The junior varsity teams play at 6 p.m.
The Tornadoes (unless after-school activities are canceled due to Hurricane Idalia) travel to play Fleming Island on Thursday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m., following a 6 p.m. JV match.
