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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

JASPER – The Helena Huskies got started on the right foot in their season-opening tri-match as they went into Jasper High School on Thursday, Aug. 22 and secured a win the first match of the season.

The Huskies coming from behind to take a 2-1 victory over the Gardendale Rockets in their first match of the season ahead of a 2-0 loss to the Jasper Vikings in the second game.

Helena was engaged in a battle with Gardendale right from the get-go as the teams were tightly matched throughout the first set.

The two teams couldn’t be separated at the end of the first set, and a 24-24 tie forced extra points to decide the opening frame.

In the end, the Rockets won back-to-back points to secure the 26-24 win in the first set to take the 1-0 lead in the match and put the pressure on the Huskies.

Helena rose to the challenge and established a lead over Gardendale, and that led to better results in the second set.

The Huskies took a 25-20 victory to tie up the match at one set apiece, meaning a third set would be needed to decide who would take the win on the season’s opening day.

Helena used its momentum from the second set win to take control of the third set. The Huskies kept the Rockets in single digits for the entire set and took the third set 15-9, earning the 2-1 match win in the process.

With one in its back pocket, Helena looked to make it two wins on the day against the evening’s host Jasper, which had just beat Gardendale to secure new coach Kellye Bowen’s first win of her Vikings career.

While Jasper took both sets, the Huskies stayed within striking distance in the first set. Helena was just a couple of points behind as the set neared its close, but the Vikings finished off the 25-21 win to beat the Huskies by four points.

Jasper then took a wider victory in the second set as it defeated Helena 25-17 to take its second victory of the season.

The 1-1 Huskies will look to respond to the Jasper loss with a big weekend at the Smith Lake Classic. They will battle Leeds, Cordova and Meek on Saturday, Aug. 24 at Curry High School, with the first match starting at 10 a.m.