by Austin Coats, sports editor

The last time the volleyball team faced the Huntsville Hornets, it won the first two sets in search of an away win against one of the district’s top teams. That was also the night that senior Mindy Hudspeth injured her knee — the very injury for which she still wears a brace. But when Huntsville visited the Consol gym tonight, Hudspeth had the final two kills and led the team with 14 kills total as the Tigers won in three games. With this win, they tie Huntsville for first place in district with their 10-2 record.

The Tigers began the game well with a four-point streak. A mixture of great play and capitalization on many Huntsville mistakes put the Tigers on top 25-22. The second game was decided the same way, except the Tigers kept the gap significant until the end of the game, when Huntsville made a short run. Consol won 25-20.

In an effort to take at least one game for their troubles, Huntsville kept it close in the third game and even had led at 14-9 before the Tigers revamped their winning ways. They took the lead, but still Huntsville held their own. At 24-21, Consol’s student section started chanting “one more point,” and yelled louder than they had all night. The Hornets made it 24-24, but the crowd was supportive throughout and helped the Tigers to their final two points.

Senior Carly Hicks was second in kills (12), junior Haley Slocum and and senior Christi Corkran led in assists (21 and 15), while seniors Mattie DeWitt and Kelly Karstadt both had 3 blocks.

The Tigers approach the end of their season as they play their second-to-last match against hometown rivals College Station High School on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Consol gyms.