Rebecca Jinright sets a shot for a teammate.

TIFTON — Dana Fletcher couldn’t help but constantly smile Tuesday afternoon.

Fletcher, head coach of the Tift County Lady Devils volleyball team, watched as her squad won their first-ever regular season opener, a convincing 2-0 victory over Thomas County Central.

“They worked all summer,” Fletcher said after the contest against Thomas County Central.

Tift swept TCC, 25-21 and 25-18, but trailed early in the first set before rallying.

Denise Duggins’ spike tied the set at 12-12.

The visiting Yellow Jackets led again by scores of 15-14 and 16-15, but hit a return out-of-bounds.

The momentum switched to Tift, but went up 17-16. When TCC tied it up again at 17-all, Kasey Griffin gave the Lady Devils the lead again.

Tift permanently took the lead at 21-20 and Griffin’s serving pushed the margin further to 23-21. The Lady Devils scored their 25th point and sealed the first game when Thomas County Central returned Johnna Kendrick’s serve into the net.

The opening set was a back-and-forth contest, but that would not be the case in the second round. The Lady Devils took an early lead and held on to it for nearly the entire match.

After Tift took a 1-0 lead, Griffin served up four straight points, including two aces.

Thomas County Central scored two straight to cut the advantage to 5-2, but Tift regained possession, then increased the lead to 7-3 with Kendrick serving.

The Lady Jackets rallied to a 10-9 lead, but it would be their only one of the contest.

Danielle Miller tied the game at 10-all, the Lady Devils went up 11-10 before another tie.

After they scored to go ahead 12-11, Savannah Humphries gave them some breathing room as TCC couldn’t return the ball after one serve and hit a return out-of-bounds on another.

Griffin and Kendrick both served aces as the Lady Devils put the game out of reach. They led by as much as 23-14 before another brief Thomas County Central spurt.

Miller finished the contest with a point for the 25-18 win.

Fletcher said her players were starting to “trust [their] neighbor.”

“It says a lot about how much they’ve been together,” she said.

Starting the middle school program has also been a big help. For the first time in program history in 2016, Tift County offered the sport at the middle school level. There are several players on the varsity and junior varsity rosters now with experience; the JV also defeated Thomas County Central Tuesday.

In the nightcap, Lee County defeated Tift 2-0 in sets of 25-12 and 25-11.

Last weekend, the Lady Devils had a chance to warm up in several scrimmages held at Lee County. Opponents included First Presbyterian Day, Thomasville, Northside (Warner Robins), Houston County, Valdosta and Harris County.

“A lot of learning,” said Fletcher. “We saw some different things.”

Tift was scheduled to play Thursday at Thomasville in a contest that included Mitchell County as the third team. They are slated to play at Valdosta next Tuesday before coming home Aug. 17 for games with Sherwood Christian and Mitchell County.