By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

HOGANSVILLE – For the second straight year, the Lafayette Christian School volleyball team opened the season with a game against a local public-school team.

A year ago, Lafayette Christian lost to a veteran Troup team that would go on to enjoy the finest season in school history.

On Tuesday, Lafayette Christian kicked off a new season against Callaway, and the result was a different one this year.

Lafayette Christian won in straight sets 25-17, 25-19 to start the season on a winning note.

“Right off the get-go, we scored early and got into the driver’s seat of the match,” Lafayette Christian coach Rene Gomez said. “And we saw that we could play with them.”

Lafayette Christian surged to a lead in each set, and it withstood multiple charges by Callaway, which was also making its season debut under new head coach Christina Harris.

“Callaway would make their run and close to within four or five, but we were able to get a big play from one of our hitters,” Gomez said.

Gomez feels the experience on the roster paid dividends.

“Last year, we were a young team full of sophomores and juniors that had primarily played at the JV level,” Gomez said. “Now this team, after having a full varsity season under our belts, that’s really shown by the poise they have.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to carry that to the next game.”

Gomez said two of the team’s veterans, Abbey Hudson and Emily Stringham, did a nice job from the setter position.

Another veteran, Kaitlyn Tucker, was the recipient of a lot of the passes from the setters.

“She was brining it from the outside,” Gomez said. “Girls were able to get the ball to her consistently. And she ended up with about eight kills, and served really well, really consistent and hard to the back line.”

Gomez said Yuna Jeong came up big after moving from libero to a hitting position.

“She came through for us and played outstanding,” Gomez said. “She served the ball well, and had about three or four kills in key moments.”

Lafayette Christian opens its region schedule with a home game against Arlington Christian today.