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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – After winning their area championship last season and reaching the Super Regionals, the Montevallo Bulldogs entered the season ready to continue their momentum and prove to the area and the state that they will be a force to be reckoned with this year.

They did just that in their opening match, as the Bulldogs started their 2023 campaign strong with a win over the Holtsville Bulldogs on Thursday, Aug. 24 at Montevallo High School.

Despite the three-set sweep, the match was close throughout, with Montevallo’s largest margin of victory in a set during the match coming in the third set with a seven-point victory. Nonetheless, Montevallo was able to show tremendous resolve to overcome Holtville’s pressure and secure the straight set sweep to go 1-0 on the young season.

The two teams came out battling in the beginning, but Montevallo had the upper hand in the end as they won the close first set, 25-22.

Then, in the second set, the sides were even more closely matched. However, Montevallo was able to avoid going to extra points and secure the 25-23 second set win to go up 2-0 in the match.

With Montevallo needing just one more set win to close out the series, they were able to earn the 25-18 win in the third set to earn the sweep over Holtville.

Zoe Jones led the way for the Montevallo offense with 12 kills as she started off her sophomore season with a bang. Her fellow sophomores also helped shoulder the load in the attack, as Maddie McConico was second on the team with eight kills and Hunter Jordan was right behind her with seven kills for herself.

Junior Riley Fletcher dominated the service game for Montevallo as she racked up six service aces across the three sets in the match. Elsewhere on the offense, Emeli Guardado had 17 assists as she helped the Montevallo offense secure the win.

Guardado was also effective on the defensive end of the court as she recorded 10 digs across the match. Jordan also had three solo blocks to secure crucial points for Montevallo en route to their win.

Next up for Montevallo, they will participate in the Good Hope Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 26 to face strong competition as they prepare for area play. They will return home on Thursday, Aug. 31 to take on county rival Calera at 6 p.m.