The Mineola Lady Jackets took the short trek up Hwy. 37 to Quitman last Tuesday, coming away with a 25-22, 25-9, 25-6 victory over the Lady Bulldogs.

Friday the Lady Jackets headed east to Winona, and despite sluggish starts to a couple games, handled the Lady Tigers expertly to win 25-14, 25-12, 25-5 and go 3-0 in district play.

The first game between Quitman and Mineola was the closest. The Lady Jackets won the first three points before opening a strong 10-4 lead.

After a Lady Bulldog timeout, the next 11 points exchanged side-outs with the exception of one Olivia Hughes block to hold Macy Fischer’s serve at 13-6. Following another Quitman timeout, Mineola pushed their edge to 19-10 before the Lady ‘dogs bit back with a 6-1 run to pull within five.

With the score 23-16 favoring the Lady Jackets, an Annabelle Popek block gave the ball to Abby Day, who propelled Quitman to a six-point run on five straight serves that Mineola was unable to return, including two aces, to pull within one point.

At 23-22, Lady Jacket libero Paris Spigner was the first to dig out a Day serve and a Hughes attack on the right side finished the point. Hughes’ serve was not returned, giving Mineola the opener by three points.

A more solid defensive effort by the Lady Jackets kept the Lady Bulldogs pinned in the second and third games, which Mineola managed to win more efficiently.

Quitman’s Day tallied five aces, Peyton Kruckner 10 assists and Kaylie Wood four kills.

For the Lady Jackets, Mylee Fischer tallied nine kills, nine assists and four digs; Hughes netted eight kills, three aces, 10 assists and three blocks - twice assisted at the net by Jayla Jackson; Spigner served two aces and got six digs; Jocelyn Whitehead had four kills and four digs.

Mineola head coach Tashara Stephens looks for her team to be consistent and control the floor, improving on defense as district play progresses.

Mineola adapts to change quickly, such as new rotations, or in the case of Hughes, different serving methods. Stephens recently switched Hughes from serving down-balls to a floating jump serve, and the aggressive style has proven itself.

While effective against Quitman, it absolutely wreaked havoc against Winona, where Hughes got the ball in the second game with the Lady Jackets trailing 12-9 and proceeded to win 16 straight points to close it out.

Having trailed by 7-1, Mineola rallied, riding the hot hands of Hughes as well as Gracie Finley, hitting on the left side and attacking with repeated success.

Picking up where Hughes left off, Shylah Kratzmeyer served for 10 straight points to crush the hopes of the Lady Tigers.

In Winona, Lady Jacket hitters Finley, Whitehead and Mylee Fischer hit eight kills each, with Fischer adding three aces, 10 assists, five digs and four blocks; Hughes had five kills, five aces, 19 assists and seven digs; Macy Fischer contributed five aces and five digs.

Mineola hosted Harmony Tuesday and Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill will visit Friday.