MOULTRIE – At Thomasville High School Thursday night the Colquitt County Lady Packer middle school, JV and varsity volleyball squads competed in their most recent matches, with wins coming from two of the teams.

Both the middle school and varsity teams defeated the Thomasville Bulldogs 2-0.

The JV team lost 2-1 during the tiebreaker set. Their final set scores were 17-25, 25-22, 11-15.

Though they didn’t win, the JV team did have some great plays.

Five Lady Packer athletes scored at least one ace: Jaida Gachuz, Dimaree Smith, Sadie Saunders, Carli Brown and Caitlyn McNeil.

One of Gachuz’s ace serves was actually the very first serve of the match, and Saunders had five aces in a row during the first set.

Taraji Green also had a phenomenal block during the second set.

Some Lady Packers also had successful dive saves during the JV match. Madison Lane, Smith and Brown all had numerous digs.

There was also one notable spike. During the third set, McNeil slammed the ball into the hands of two blockers, sending the ball immediately flying out of bounds for a Lady Packer point.

During the middle school match, the Lady Packers came out very strong when Emma Lofton had a serving run of 11, with seven of those being aces, early in the first set.

Also serving aces during the middle school match were Bella Reagan, Dru McLeod, Brooklyn Faucett, Belen Romulo, and Ashton Robinson.

The first set ended 25-17.

At the end of the second, the Lady Packers faced a game point for the Bulldogs while they were four points behind.

With volleyball being a rally serve sport, the Lady Packers would have to get six points in a row — because you have to win by two — without the Bulldogs gaining a single point or they would lose.

McLeod went up to serve.

Two aces, one Thomasville net touch violation and three winning volleys later the Lady Packers got the score to the 26-64 they needed for the win.

An ear splitting cheer rang through the gymnasium when the ball touched the ground for the final time.

The varsity squad, after cheering on the middle school and JV teams, took the court for their chance to face Thomasville High.

The Lady Packers won their sets 25-6; 25-12.

During the match, five Lady Packers players served aces and two players tied for the longest serving streak.

Reese Webb, Jessie Eunice, Claire Slocumb, Wynn Kinsey, Juliette Harp all had multiple ace serves.

Four of Webb’s aces were during her serving run of seven.

Olivia Davis also had seven consecutive serves, though none of them were aces.

Playing great defense were Natalie Bryant, Claire Slocumb and Jessie Blair, who all threw their bodies on the floor to keep the ball in play.

Slocumb also had a one handed quick-reflect save during the first set and Reese Webb had a perfectly timed block.

Gaining points through spikes were Jessie Eunice, Nyasia Harper, Wynn Kinsey and Melanie Harp.

Eunice and Webb also utilized tipping to gain points for the Lady Packers.

“I’m proud of all the players,” said Patel. “We brought high energy to a low energy gym and didn’t underestimate the other team.”

The varsity volleyball team will next play on Saturday in Valdosta, and the next home match for both the JV and varsity squads is next Tuesday, August 22, beginning at 5 p.m.