Olivia Davis sets for Colquitt County in a volleyball match against Tift County. Reese Webb gears up for a potential spike.

TIFTON — Colquitt County came across the border and Tift County got revenge for a previous volleyball defeat Thursday, Sept. 28. The Lady Devils won 3-1 over Colquitt, reversing a loss from a week earlier.

Set scores were 25-12, 21-25, 25-13, 25-19.

“That felt much better to get that back,” said Tift head coach Caleb Dawson. “Colquitt is much improved. [Head coach Jess Cohen] has done an incredible job in two years.”

Dawson described the Lady Packers as “super competitive.”

“I am glad we got that one back,” he said. Tift was able to achieve the gameplan Dawson created for them, aiming where their shots went. “It worked out well for us,” he said.

With the exception of the first, all sets were close making the always exciting rivalry even more boisterous.

One team had to break out once the sets tied at 1 apiece. The team to do that initially seemed like Colquitt.

Reese Webb’s kill made it a 2-0 lead. Tift soon tied, though, via Caitlyn Burgess and a Lady Pack spike attempt that sailed out of bounds. The scored tied again at 3-3, then Jalaya Miller angled a shot that the visitors could not reach. Up 4-3, the Lady Devils kept building.

A kill by Makayla Bryant meant a 10-5 Tift advantage. Colquitt scored, but Bryant had another point. With Lexie Lane serving the score jumped to 18-8.

Colquitt had two aces from Wynn Kinsey, but, as she seemed to do it times of need, Burgess fed off sets from her teammates and the Lady Packers could not keep up. Already trailing 23-13, Colquitt could not get two shots to land inbounds and Tift had a 2-1 set lead.

Tift could not dig out of a hole in the second set, but had no problems in the fourth.

Colquitt went ahead 6-3, then Tift scored twice. It stayed close for a while. Raegin Walker tied it 8-8 on an ace. The Lady Packers went up at 12-10 on Webb’s block. Bryant returned fire with a block, then re-tied with on a Miller kill.

The Lady Devils took the lead at 13-12 and did not look back, built as much cushion as it needed at 15-12 with an ace from Abbie Lott.

Olivia Davis’ last ace for the Lady Packers made it 23-18, but it was too much ground and Burgess’ point secured Tift’s victory.

Colquitt scored the first six points of the second set and though Tift came close several times to tying, they never actually could.

Walker closed the gap to 8-7, then Colquitt responded with six consecutive points. Lott’s block was run of three straight points for Tift but they were still down three at 18-15.

Miller had Tift’s last gasp at 23-21. A block and Jaina Turner kill closed the door on the Lady Packers’ only set win.

Official stats credit Burgess with 16 kills in the match and Lane and Miller with 10 each. Reagan Perri had eight digs. Ava Thompson had an astonishing 42 assists.