Liberty-Eylau swept Miller Grove in three sets Tuesday at the Rader Dome, 25-15, 25-15, 25-20.
"I am looking forward to building from here," said Liberty-Eylau head volleyball coach LaTasha Harris.
The Lady Leopards played an efficient game, forcing more errors upon the visiting Lady Hornets than they themselves committed, and were able to coast most of the game.
Keeley Norris was a dominate presence on the floor dropping 10 kills on her opponent. Kaliyah Thompson issued 14 service points and one ace to complement Norris' front-line efforts.
"You have to look at all the positives, simply because we have been on a streak where we have had a couple games where we've lost, so our morale had kind of dropped. A game like this is all about building that self-confidence and getting their 'mojo' back, in a sense," Harris said.
In the first two matches Miller Grove took an early lead, going up 4-1 in the first and 7-3 in the second. The Leopards, in both matches, answered back with long strings of points to reclaim the lead, many off Hornet errors.
Key defensive standout for L-E were Kyana Norman with five blocks and Taylor Crabtree with 12 receptions and 10 digs.
In the final set, the Hornets went up first 5-1 with the Leopards only point coming off a bad serve. A string of errors by Miller Grove, and a hammer of a kill by Kayla Norris put the lead back in the hands of L-E, 8-5.
The Hornets capitalized on an L-E error, and Alexis Serrano swatted home an ace to rally, 8-7 Leopards.
It was a bullet kill by Keeley Norris that served as the catalyst for an 8-2 run by L-E to put it up 16-9.
Many of the Leopards' mistakes came in the last half of the final set; all of the 11 additional points that the Hornets went on to score came from Leopard errors.
"I think with this game, they definitely didn't play to the level they should. But as a team they came together, they cheered, they did all the things as a team that any coach would want and for that I am excited. Their energy was up and I enjoyed watching them smile and have fun, even through their mistakes," Harris said.
The Leopards host the Arkansas High Friday at 5 p.m. in the Rader Dome.