Volleyball beats McComb, Natchez to continue early season hot streak

Franklin County’s varsity volleyball team claimed its fourth- and fifth-straight wins of the season after knocking off both McComb and Natchez last week.

At McComb on Thursday, FC downed the Lady Tigers — 25-13, 25-17 and 25-11.

In the initial set, Franklin’s Karlee Wallace recorded seven service points while teammate Gabrielle O’Quinn contributed four and Niyla Wright, Ja’Kya Brown and Kennedy Washington added two each.

Wright led the way in the second set with seven points as O’Quinn and Sadye Scott each had four to pace the Lady Dawgs.

The third set saw O’Quinn drive the offensive tempo with seven service points while Wallace added four, Brown tacked on three and Scott and Washington recorded one each.

Defensively, FC held McComb to six service points in the first set, eight in the second and three in the final set.

At home on Tuesday, Aug. 16, FC defeated Natchez for the second time this season by claiming three-of-four sets over the visiting team — 25-10, 25-13, 20-25 and 25-4.

Wallace helped drive the first-set win thanks to 10-straight service point to begin the night.

In addition, Wright scored four points with an ace while O’Quinn added three and Brown and Washington were credited with one each.

The second set saw five FC players having key roles in the win as O’Quinn scored six, Wright had five (with an ace), Brown recorded three and Scott and Wallace added two each.

Natchez dominated the third set and held FC to 10 service points — six for Scott and two each for O’Quinn and Brown.

The Lady Dawgs rallied in the fourth set with Wallace putting 18 of her team’s service points on the scoreboard with a single ace. Wright scored four points with an ace and O’Quinn recorded one point.

On Tuesday, Aug. 9, FC upended Natchez High School, 25-11, 25-23 and 25-15, on the road to begin its current winning streak.

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JUNIOR VARSITY

The junior varsity Lady Dawgs earned a pair of wins last week over both McComb and Natchez.

Against the Lady Tigers, FC split the first two sets, 27-25 and 23-25, before winning the deciding series, 15-12.

Sophia Miller and Kaylin Washington led the way in the initial set with four service points each while Mackenzie Starks added three and Lauren McCaa and A’Niyah Bee scored one each.

Despite dropping the second set, FC’s McCaa played strong with five service points to pace the JV Lady Dawgs and teammates Miller and Katie Temple appeared on the tally sheet.

Katherine Romero came through in the final set with the final five service points in the game with Miller adding four to seal the victory.

Last Tuesday against Natchez, the JV team won in straight sets, 25-18 and 25-17.

Miller’s seven service points in the initial set and Kaylin Washington’s four helped drive the Lady Dawgs. Starks added three service points for FC and Gre’Yonne Queen had one.

Bradi Wallace and Miller scored four each in the second set, with Queen adding three while Kennedi Cook chipped in one.

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UPCOMING GAMES

Franklin County’s JV and varsity volleyball teams will travel to Crystal Springs for matches beginning at 5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25.

The team will travel to Hazlehurst on Tuesday, Aug. 30 for games to begin at 5 p.m.

The Lady Dawgs will host Brookhaven on Thursday, Sept. 1 beginning at 5:30 p.m.