GENTRY — The gym erupted with shouts of joy as the Decatur junior-high B team won its first match since the team's formation one month ago.
The Gentry Pioneers played host to the Decatur Bulldogs in volleyball in a three-team series at the gym at Gentry High School on Sept. 1.
The Decatur junior-high B team made quick work of its Gentry equal, taking the match in two sets, 25-15 and a close 26-24.
"I'm proud of these girls," said Jessica Castagna, Decatur volleyball coach. "They played hard and deserve this win."
The Decatur-Gentry senior high match was just as intense as the junior-high B game an hour earlier.
Decatur took a slight advantage over the Pioneers in the first set -- by as much as seven points midway through -- but Gentry would not give up so easily and the team began a rally, pushing the score to a 20-all tie. The Bulldogs prevailed and took the set, 25-22.
Decatur's first-set victory was short lived because Gentry made up ground and took the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-21.
In the final set of the best of five series, the steam that drove the Bulldogs early in the match ran out and the Pioneers took the final set 25-11 and picked up a conference win for Gentry.
The Gentry Pioneers senior girls volleyball team is now 1 and 2 in conference play with an overall record of 2 and 2, while the Decatur Bulldogs are 1 and 2 in conference play with a 1 and 4 overall record.
In other Gentry-Decatur action, the Bulldog junior-high team dropped both sets to the Pioneers, 25-17 and 25-7.
Sports on 09/07/2016