Tyler Lee Volleyball Sweeps John Tyler

TYLER -- There's as mix of emotions as friends and rivals come together in the John Tyler-Tyler Lee athletics rivalry.

The Lee Lady Raiders volleyball team wrote another chapter in the John Tyler series with a three-set sweep Tuesday at their home gym, 25-11, 25-13, 25-16, in a tri-match which also featured Quitman.

"We have a camp with them every summer," Lee setter Genesis Borens said after the match against the Lady Lions. "A lot of them are my friends and after every game they'll make comments like, 'Good set.' Or, 'Thanks for that dirty tip.' Stuff like that. It's pretty fun to play against people you know."

Borens probably got a lot of feedback from JT's players as Lee's top performer in Tuesday's match.

She set up 20 kills on assists, a game high.

Lee's tall front court turned in a great performance as well. It scored on four blocks as a unit and forced JT into many hits out of bounds in addition to net violations as the Lady Lions tried to keep pace.

"It takes everybody, you have to have a great pass and a great set to make everyone look good," Lady Raiders head coach Melissa Lee said. "I just think that everything was going well tonight."

The Lady Raiders (12-5) opened the match on a 4-0 run, moved out to a 10-3 lead and closed the first set with a 15-8 spree.

JT briefly answered the challenge in the second set, a 9-9 early tie, before Lee jumped back into high gear to close the set with a 16-14 run.

The Lady Lions were outscored 14-7 midway through the third set and could not recover.

"I think that we communicated really well," Borens said. "We had a lot of good passes and just gelled really good as a team. I knew where their hitters were going to be and they called for their sets. We worked together and collaborated well tonight."

Borens and the squad will enter District 11-6A play with a Sept. 12 home match against Rockwall. It will take a final swing through East Texas this weekend as part of the Shirley Atkins Tournament field in White Oak.

Lee will take on Brock, Pine Tree and Pleasant Grove in pool play, but it could see White Oak later in the tournament and have the opportunity to avenge a season-opening loss.

"We went five games with them," Borens said. "They're a great team and I think everyone would like to play them again. I think we drew a difficult bracket before we even get to face them. We just need to focus and not get down if we make a mistake. We need to keep the intensity and dominate."

JT topped Quitman 25-15, 25-11, 25-23. Lee also defeated the Lady Bulldogs, 25-15, 25-8, 25-8.

Aside from Borens, the Lady Raiders were led by eight kills and four aces from Jamie Mills. Claire Himes served up four aces of her own. Taylor Winchester had a game-best 23 digs.

The Lady Lions scored 11 points on Chenique Baxter kills and Dede Rouege wasn't far behind with seven kills.

JT will play Marshall on Friday and has five non-district games remaining.

"It's important to keep momentum because it can change in just a matter of minutes," Lee said. "That's what we did tonight. We kept the momentum on our side and never let them have it."