By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

DYERSBURG - It wasn’t the only problem, but the Dyersburg volleyball team certainly had trouble "keeping up with the Joneses" in their confrontation Thursday with rival Dyer County.

With Jennifer and Jessica Jones leading the way, the Lady Choctaws swept past the Lady Trojans in three straight matches. Dyer County won the first game 25-7, rallied to take game two by a 25-22 margin and wrapped up the sweep with a 25-15 win in the third game.

Prep teams in Tennessee play a best-of-five match with rally scoring, meaning that one team scores off of every serve. At DHS, rally scoring was a plus for the Lady Choctaws.

With a strong evening at the net, DC scored often with strong serves and ended multiple volleys with kills. The Jones girls were outstanding at the net and they got a boost from setups provided by Cali Cupples.

According to Dyer County head coach Beth Ann Pope, senior Jennifer Jones booked 15 kills with junior Jessica adding 10. Statistics showed Cupples, also a senior, with 25 assists.

"We were pretty dominant at the net," Pope said following the game. "That was probably the key. Our serves were outstanding, too. We just played a solid match."

The Lady Choctaws lost an early-season match against Dyersburg in Newbern, but avenged the loss with the three-game sweep at DHS.

Dyersburg head coach David Acree, obviously angry and disappointed, declined comment following the contest.

Dyersburg’s junior varsity squad posted a hard-fought win. After losing a lengthy and exciting opener by a 30-28 margin, the Lady Trojans won game two 25-13 and wrapped up the win with a 15-12 decision in game three.

In the initial varsity game, the only points scored by the Lady Trojans came on Dyer County mistakes.

Dyer County scored the first six points, built a 10-2 cushion and coasted to the win. Up 13-4, Cally Woods got into the action with a pair of aces that padded the lead. Alexa Tyler scored four consecutive points in one stretch, Brittany Studdard served up an ace and Jessica Jones closed out the opener with a smashing kill at the net.

"We gave them every point in the first game," Pope said. "They didn’t earn a single point on their own."

In game two, Allison Petty got Dyersburg off to a good start with solid serves. Mandy Yates and Stephanie Johnson showed some rare teamwork that helped the Lady Trojans build a 5-1 edge.

Dyer County responded with a boost from Jennifer Jones. After the Lady Trojans volleyed her first serve into the net, Jones served up an ace with the second one to reduce the DC deficit. Hannah Stewart’s stretching effort at the net produced another point to get the Lady Choctaws within a point.

Jessica Smith slowed DC’s charge with a good play at the net for the Lady Trojans and the host team remained in control.

Dyer County made another surge with a back-to-back effort at the net by Jennifer Jones that pulled the game even 10-10. A good volley and a nice shot by Yates pushed DHS back on top, only to see the score knotted again 11-11.

When a Tyler serve went off of Dyersburg and out of bounds, the Lady Trojans were down 12-11 and trailed the rest of the way.

Anna Claire Bradshaw stopped the DC charge with a good play at the net for a Dyersburg point and Megan Cariker added consecutive points to keep the Lady Trojans close.

Yates came up big again to cut the DHS deficit to two, at 20-18, but the Lady Choctaws opened up some breathing room with three straight points. The Lady Trojans started the DC run by hitting a serve long. When Tyler and Jennifer Jones turned in consecutive plays at the net, it was 23-18 and Dyersburg couldn’t recover.

Dyer County took control of the deciding game early. Stewart picked up to quick points, Jessica Jones tacked on another one and a Cupples ace sparked a scoring streak. Before Dyersburg could break the string, the Lady Choctaws were up 12-5.

Like the opening game, DC miscues helped the Lady Trojans. A ball off of a visiting player gave Dyersburg a lift, but a 5-2 streak kept the guests in command.

Woods scored three straight points for the guests, including a baseline ace, which vaulted the Lady Choctaws into a 10-point advantage.

Dyersburg got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

"It’s a big win for us," Pope added. "We’d like to get to playing on a more consistent level and this will help us."