VINEMONT, Ala. – Vinemont tipped off the 2024 season at home Thursday afternoon and in their first matches under new head coach Bobby Daniels, the Lady Eagles collected a pair of wins over Columbia and Cullman Christian to get off to a 2-0 start.
Vinemont 2 – Columbia 0 (First match)
It was back-and-forth early on in the first set between Vinemont and Columbia. Columbia held a slim 4-3 lead, but a pair of points by Carley Stephens and an ace by Caroline Miller gave them a 7-4 lead. They continued to create some distance between them and Columbia. Morgan Flanagan picked up a point and back-to-back kills, and Addison Holcomb collected a pair of points as well, and Vinemont pushed their lead to 12-5. Flanagan continued to rack up the points in the first set, as she collected four aces to help stretch Vinemont’s lead to 18-6. An ace from Reagan Robinson and a pair of points by Flanagan helped seal the 25-10 win for Vinemont in the first set.
In the second set, Vinemont quickly fell behind 3-0 and were down 6-2 at one point. Columbia held an 8-5 lead, but Holcomb picked up a point and back-to-back aces to tie things up at eight. Later on in the set, Abby Kuykendall collected an ace, Flanagan picked up a point, and Arleigh Thomason added a kill to give Vinemont a 14-12 lead. Miller would later add back-to-back aces to make it 17-13. A kill by Holcomb, later followed by a point by Mabri Smith, stretched Vinemont’s lead to 23-17. Jayden Friedrick’s ace helped Vinemont finish off their sweep of Columbia, 25-17.
In the first set, Flanagan led the way with four points, four aces, and a pair of kills. Stephens added a pair of points and a kill, and Holcomb finished with a trio of points. In the second set, Holcomb finished with a pair of aces, a kill, and a point, and Flanagan added a pair of points and a kill in the win.
Vinemont 2 – Cullman Christian 0 (Second match)
It went back-and-forth for a while between Vinemont and Cullman Christian in the first set. Cullman Christian held onto a slim 8-6 lead, but three straight points by the Lady Eagles, including back-to-back kills by Thomason and Flanagan, gave them a 9-8 lead. Later on in the set, Mabri Smith picked up back-to-back aces to make it 12-9. Vinemont looked to pull away in the end. A kill by Holcomb and an ace by Stephens made it 20-12, but the Lady Lions cut it to 22-15. They wouldn’t get any closer after that, though, as Robinson collected a point and Smith’s third ace of the set gave Vinemont the 25-15 win in the first set.
The second set saw Cullman Christian jump out to a quick 7-0 lead. They pushed their lead to 8-2, but the Lady Eagles looked to fight their way back into the contest. Stephens picked up a point, and Flanagan collected back-to-back aces to cut it to 8-5. Later on in the set, the Lady Lions stretched their lead to 14-9, but a point by Flanagan and an ace by Robinson helped Vinemont trim the Lady Lion lead to 14-13. Once again, though, Cullman Christian pushed their lead back up to five at 18-13. The Lady Lions held a 20-17 lead late in the set, but four straight points by the Lady Eagles, including a point by Stephens gave them a 21-20 lead. The Lady Lions got the lead right back at 22-21, but led by a pair of aces by Miller, Vinemont grabbed a 24-22 lead. They went on to take the second set, 25-23, to finish off their sweep of Cullman Christian.
In the first set, Smith led the way with a trio of aces. Stephens added a pair of points and an ace, while Flanagan collected a pair of points and a kill. In the second set, Flanagan finished with a pair of aces and a point. Stephens and Holcomb each added an ace, a kill, and a point, while Miller ended up with a pair of aces in the win.
Vinemont will remain home to host a tournament Saturday.
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