Newton Citizen

COVINGTON - The Alcovy Lady Tigers may have jumped on the Rockdale Lady Bulldogs in the first game of their match Tuesday, but Rockdale made the necessary adjustments to win the match.

Alcovy took the first game 25-21 before Rockdale closed the match winning the second and third game by the same score, 25-18.

"We had to use two new lineups. The one in the first game had some kinks in it so we went to a second lineup and that one produced much better," Rockdale coach Stephen Sansing said. "We still have some things we have to get better on, obviously, like defensive positioning. We gave a few points up off that."

Rockdale's Tayla Mitchell led the floor with 15 kills while Brianna Dennis had eight.

Of all the kill shots attempted by the Lady Bulldogs, Alcovy managed to block four. Courtney Keaton had two while Leah Anderson and Ashley Grant had one each.

"We've learned a little bit about more about timing. My girls are jumping, they're just not jumping at the right time," Alcovy coach Amanda Briggs said. "Courtney got a block today and that was the first time she's gotten her hands on the ball."

In the first game, Alcovy held a game-high, four-point margin late in the contest as the lead changed five times.

Alcovy took the lead at 20-19 and took advantage of several Rockdale mistakes to hold on to the win.

The Lady Tigers appeared poised to put the match away in two straight games as they held a 17-14 lead and were matching Rockdale point for point.

However, Rockdale's Lauren Aikens served seven straight points, including two aces, to give the Lady Bulldogs a 21-17 edge before winning the game 25-18.

"She was our leading server with 17 good serves," Sansing said. "We've been trying to bring her along and each week she's gotten a little more confidence."

Rockdale took the lead away from the Lady Tigers early in the game at 5-4 and never looked back.

Alcovy tied the game four times but could never overtake the Lady Bulldogs.

"I don't think my team had a lot of desire tonight. They didn't seem to communicate as much as I would've liked," Briggs said. "There was not a lot of encouragement on a bad point to get the momentum back in our favor. If we could do that, that would be helpful."

Manny Fils can be reached at manny.fils@newtoncitizen.com.