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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

JASPER – For the second straight week in a row, the Thompson Warriors found themselves locked into a five-set war with a Class 6A team, and once again, they came out on the winning end.

Thompson defeated the Jasper Vikings 3-2 on Tuesday, Sept. 3 in a road test at Jasper High School.

The victory came after the Warriors dueled with the Helena Huskies in a thrilling five-set county battle, one that they won 3-2 on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Thompson came into the match looking for a bounce-back result after taking a 3-0 loss to the Lipscomb Academy Mustangs on Friday, Aug. 30 during an in-school game in Nashville, Tennessee.

That bounce-back result would need to come on the road against a battle-tested Jasper Vikings team that had already faced multiple Shelby County sides under a former county coach in Kellye Bowen, who is in her first season in her hometown after years at Spain Park.

The Warriors and Vikings were closely matched from the very first set, but it was the visitors who got the upper hand to start the match.

Thompson ended up winning the first set 25-19 to take a 1-0 lead in the match, putting the pressure on Jasper early on to respond.

The Vikings did just that and bounced back to take the lead in the second set and hold on until the end.

Jasper’s 25-20 win in the second set knotted up the match at one set win apiece and swung the momentum back to the hosts.

However, the pendulum swung back in the Warriors’ favor in another tight affair in the third set.

Jasper lurked within striking distance in the final points, but Thompson took the 25-21 win to reclaim the lead in the match.

Now with the Warriors a set win away from taking the match, the Vikings fought back in a bid to keep their hopes for victory alive.

The teams came down to the wire in the fourth set as well, but this time, the scales tipped in Jasper’s favor. The hosts won 25-22 to tie up the match at 2-2 and send the sides to a decisive fifth and final set.

The momentum swung one final time in Thompson’s favor during the fifth set, and it was enough to see out the victory.

The Warriors built out a solid lead in the fifth set and went on to win 15-9, claiming the 3-2 win on the road in the process.

The victory took Thompson to 8-2 on the season ahead of the start of area play on Sept. 12.

Before then though, the Warriors will travel down to Orange Beach from Sept. 5-7 for a series of matches.