By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CALERA – After suffering defeat in their first two matches of the season, the Calera Eagles found their first taste of success within the friendly confines of their home gym.

Calera earned a 3-1 victory over the Montevallo Bulldogs in their home opener on Monday, Aug. 26 at Calera High School for its first win of the young season.

Both teams came in off opposite waves of momentum after Calera lost to both Thompson and Sylacauga in straight sets in a tri-match at Sylacauga on Thursday, Aug. 22 while Montevallo went 3-2 at the Falcon Classic in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, Aug. 24.

However, it was the Eagles who got the upper hand early on in a tight opening set.

Calera held off the lurking Bulldogs at the end of the first set to win 25-21 and go up 1-0 in the match.

That first set win paved the way for a dominant showing in the second set.

After Montevallo scored 21 points in the opening frame, Calera’s rallies meant that the Bulldogs were held under 10 points this time around.

The Eagles rolled to a 25-9 win in the second set to take a commanding 2-0 lead going into the third set.

With its back against the wall, Montevallo fought back and found much more success in the third set.

Not only did the Bulldogs crack the double-digit threshold this time, they won the entire set, staving off Calera with a 25-21 third-set win to extend the match to a fourth set.

While the momentum swung back to Montevallo after that third-set victory, the Eagles took it right back and saw out the match win from there.

Calera held off the Bulldogs with a 25-20 win in the fourth set to close out the 3-1 match win.

With the win, the Eagles improves to 1-2 and will hope to make it two wins in a row at home when they face John Carroll Catholic on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.

As for Montevallo, the 4-3 Bulldogs will have a quick turnaround before their first area match on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. against Jemison at Montevallo High School. They will then travel to Briarwood Christian on Thursday, Aug 29 at 6 p.m.