Newton Citizen

CONYERS - The Rockdale volleyball team is on a roll right now.

The Lady Bulldogs (8-7 overall) won their sixth straight match and improved to 4-0 in Area 8-AAAA play with a 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 victory over Clarke Central on Monday night.

"It was a hard-fought match tonight. It just shows the kind of heart and character we have on this team," Rockdale coach Stephen Sansing said. "We don't want to get down every match for sure, but to be able to come back and not give up shows that we've got the toughness to do well.

"Clarke Central is a great team. They helped put us out last year in the area tournament, so it was sweet to get a little revenge on them."

Clarke Central held off a Rockdale rally in the first game to win 25-23. The Lady Bulldogs, who trailed 12-4 at one point, rallied to take a 23-21 lead before the Lady Gladiators reeled off four straight points to win the opening game.

In the second game, Rockdale trailed early 13-6 before Kelsey Girardot scored 10 straight service points, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 16-14 advantage. Girardot had three aces during the run.

Down the stretch, Brandie Jenkins and Tayla Mitchell had kills as Rockdale moved to within a point of winning the match.

Libero Taylor Burdette wrapped up the victory by digging out a low serve and her return landed just inside the line for a 25-20 victory.

In the third game, the teams were even on the scoreboard seven times before Rockdale seized control.

Girardot had back-to-back kills to help the Lady Bulldogs take the lead at 18-16. Mitchell followed two straight kills, expanding the advantage to 21-17.

And then, Brianna Dennis finished off the Rockdale victory with three straight kills for a 25-19 win.

"We just gave them (Clarke Central) too many easy points in the first game. We didn't make them do anything, we made a lot of errors," Sansing said. "Once we stopped making errors and actually made them start making plays, that's when the match started to turn."

Chelsea Nunn had 21 assists for the Lady Bulldogs, who return to action this evening against Eastside and Monroe Area at Davis Middle School.

Jeff Gillespie can be reached at jeff.gillespie@rockdalecitizen.com.