By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

DYERSBURG - After racing past the competition on the way to both the local conference title and West Tennessee crown in 2006, veteran head coach James "Bubba" Cobb hoped his volleyball team could begin the new campaign on the same track.

A season-opening sweep of visiting Northview Monday night has the Lady Trojans off and running again.

Cobb's club claimed the West Tennessee Athletic Conference championship and the West-state regional hardware before getting eliminated early in state-wide tournament play.

In the first action of 2007, Cobb got a solid effort from his returning players and a boost from some new faces on the way to a 25-16, 25-17 victory over the Lady Mustangs. The coach inserted seventh-grade athletes Sydney McNeill and Claire White into the starting line-up with experienced players returning from last year's highly-successful squad.

"I'm expecting a lot from my eighth-graders," Cobb said after the win. "They did a good job and we got some good production from the seventh-graders, too. It's a good way to start the season."

Dyersburg got stand-out efforts from Shelby Andrews, Mary Peckenpaugh and Rachel Gauldin as well as McNeill and White. During one stretch in the second game, the Peckenpaugh - McNeill tandem seemed to take over the outing.

"For a while, it looked like it was Peckenpaugh serving and McNeill spiking the ball over the net," Cobb quipped.

The Lady Trojans also swept matches in B-team competition, winning 25-14 and 25-23.

It was the first regular-season action of the season for both schools and the inaugural outing for Northview's first-year head coach Carissa Klutts.

Despite the loss, Klutts saw plenty of positive signs from her club, too.

"They practice hard and play hard," she said. "They give me all they've got. They'll get better."

After falling behind 0-2 in the first game, Dyersburg knotted the score at 5-5 before going on a scoring streak. With Andrews leading the way with her serve, the Lady Trojans opened an 11-5 advantage.

The "rally scoring" guidelines helped the Lady Mustangs get back into the contest. With either team eligible to score regardless of who holds the serve, Northview trimmed its six-point deficit to three. Kara Taylor, Laura Bell, Emilee Lamb and Madyson Caton paced the guests as they got close at 16-13 and 19-16 before DMS pulled away.

In game two, the Lady Trojans got off to a fast start. McNeill made it 7-0 with a monster spike and DMS was on the way to a big lead. It was a 10-0 before Northview could get on the board.

The Lady Mustangs rallied again, however, getting within three (12-9), before Dyersburg regained control.

A good crowd was enthusiastic throughout the competition, but especially appreciative of the B-teamers in the evening's finale. Dyersburg managed a tight, 25-23 triumph.

Klutts was equally thrilled with her youngsters.

"The A-teamers played good, but I'm just going to brag on my B-teamers right now," she explained. ""My B-team is mostly sixth-graders. They're all as new as myself, but they work hard."

Klutts singled out Amber Tolley and Madalyn Chilcutt for their efforts.

The Lady Trojans return to the court Thursday evening with doubleheader action at Munford. Competition begins at 6 p.m.