High school volleyball: Senath-Hornersville brooms away Malden

SENATH — Playing a conference match so early in the season can be a challenging proposition.

But, that's what happened Monday as Senath-Hornersville squared off with Bootheel Conference rival Malden.

In the end, the Lions swept the Green Wave by scores of 25-20, 25-20, 25-13 thanks to the front-line work of Jada Burlison and service game of Chloe Edmonston.

Malden's Nasia Smoot kept her team in the thick of things with an effective service game. However, Senath-Hornersville won this Bootheel Conference match in three sets.(Photo by Eric Viccaro, staff)

“Our girls came out strong and stayed focused all night,” Senath-Hornersville head coach Laura Harris said, who also credited her Lions for playing smart throughout the match.

Edmonston closed out the opening set with a kill.

Burlison aced Malden late in the second set, and the Green Wave committed an attack error to close it out.

Burlison recorded a kill to give Senath-Hornersville its 24th point in the third set, and Malden hit the ball into the net on match point.

“Senath-Hornersville placed the ball well and hit holes we didn't cover,” said Malden assistant coach Lindsay Davidson, who coached the Green Wave in place of Jennifer Sokolova.

Nasia Smoot helped the Green Wave remain competitive in the first couple of sets with her effective service game, which included several aces.

Other Malden players had strong matches in spots: Mikaylyn Vipperman and Angela Dobbins along the front row and Addi Buchanan had several key digs to keep points alive.

“We got our first-game jitters out of the way,” Davidson added. “We were able to iron out things we need to work on, and we're looking forward to playing Senath-Hornersville again.”

Burlison finished with 13 kills and Edmonston eight. Edmonston also produced the most points for the Lions on her serve with 16. Brennan Lane contributed a team-best 14 digs, and Morgan Chandler distributed 14 assists.

The Lions followed that win by defeating Portageville in five hard-fought sets Tuesday, while Malden earned its first victory of the season with a home sweep over Hayti.