The Mineola Lady Jackets have put themselves in the proverbial driver’s seat in district 13-3A, moving to 7-0 after a five-set win over the Lady Tigers in Mt. Vernon last Tuesday 25-14, 15-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-8 and a three-game sweep of Quitman Saturday.

The opening game in Mt. Vernon started close, knotted at 7-7, before Mineola went on a 5-0 run. The Lady Jackets grew the lead to 19-12.

On an Olivia Hughes set, Gracie Finley hit into a Lady Tiger wall but was able to make a diving save to keep the point alive, and on a Mylee Fischer assist was able to finish off the point swinging from the right side.

A Mt. Vernon timeout would prove ineffective, and Mineola took the opener with ease.

Despite an early 5-2 lead, the Lady Jackets struggled slightly in the second. The Lady Tigers were able to score by hitting several balls off Mineola blockers and grabbed an 11-7 lead. Mt. Vernon’s libero saved some strong digs on their way to a 14-8 margin, which would not get any smaller.

The Lady Jackets trailed by as many as 10 in the third. They found a rhythm again, but couldn’t quite catch the Lady Tigers once they trailed, ultimately falling by five to go down 2-1.

Mineola’s patience and persistence paid off, their play came around and they capitalized on some Mt. Vernon errors, including four serves dumped into the net, to force a fifth set.

Up 13-8 in the fifth, the Lady Jackets needed to finish strong to avoid letting the Lady Tigers claw back once again.

Hughes launched a serve that Mt. Vernon struggled to handle; Jayla Jackson and Mylee Fischer defended the net, the ball fell softly to Mineola’s side, which Fischer was able to bump away from the net and Hughes bump-set it back to Fischer at the net for a tip over; Hughes managed a glancing blow to receive a hard hit, which Paris Spigner retrieved and Hughes returned to the Lady Tigers; Hughes flung herself at another ball for a successful dig, which Fischer set up for Finley to smash into the deep left corner to give the Lady Jackets set point, 14-8.

Hughes and Jocelyn Whitehead led the way with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Mylee Fischer added seven and Gracie Finley six. Hughes had four blocks and Fischer three. Kloey Garcia and Shylah Kratzmeyer each had eight digs to go with nine from Hughes.

Mineola looks to clinch the district championship Friday in Harmony, before closing out the regular season Tuesday at Mt. Pleasant Chapel Hill.