Pineville locked up in a five-set battle with Clay County on Thursday and managed to pull off a 3-2 hard-fought win.
The Lady Mountain Lions improved to 3-2 in the process while the Lady Tigers fell to 1-5z
Clay County captured the first set, winning, 25-22, before Pineville settled down and evened things up at one apiece with a 25-12 win. The Lady Tigers responded with a 25-18 victory during the third set before the Lady Mountain Lions rallied for a 28-26 win in the fourth set while securing the overall victory with a 15-10 win in the fifth set.
“That game was an absolute battle,” Pineville coach Samantha North said. “One of the things we’ve been focusing on is mental toughness and overcoming deficits. We lost the first set and I pretty much told them it’s time to get tough or lower our expectations for the season.
“They battled against a phenomenal Clay County team until the very end,” she added. “Clay has improved so much since last year and as soon as we saw their scores against Barbourville we knew how important it was for us to play well tonight. I’m incredibly proud of our girls’ tenacity and will to win.”
Pineville will be back in action with a busy Saturday. The Lady Mountain Lions will host Model, Oneida Baptist, and June Buchanan while Clay County will travel and play Jackson County on Monday.
