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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – The Thompson Warriors came into this season looking to make a strong statement on the road back to the state playoffs, and that is exactly what they did in their season opener.

Thompson defeated the Chelsea Hornets in straight sets on Thursday, Aug. 25 at Thompson High School in the first match of the season for both teams.

The Warriors and Hornets battled throughout the first set with only a couple of points separating the sides as the set drew to a close. Ultimately, Thompson edged out Chelsea, 25-23, to take the early lead in the match.

Thompson used that momentum to jump out in the second set, and the Warriors cruised to a  25-12 win to come within a set of taking the match.

The Hornets battled back in the third set to make the frame closer than the last, but Thompson proved to be too much for Chelsea and took the set, 25-21, to sweep the match and take the win.

Offensively, Chloe Mittelstadt led the Warriors’ attack with 14 kills on the night. In addition, she hit for a .391 hitting percentage as she proved to be a potent weapon for coach Judy Green’s squad.

Maddie Baxley also had seven kills while playing alongside Mittelstadt as she finished the game with a .167 hitting percentage.

Elsewhere on the offense, Olivia Kelly had another solid night with 22 assists as she helped the Thompson attack hit for +.148 against the Hornets.

Over on the defense, libero Kenzly Foote led the way with 11 digs and had a 2.20 passing average.

Thompson will look to turn the momentum from the win over Chelsea into a solid showing at the River City Classic in Memphis. The Warriors will take on teams from across the region on Saturday, Aug. 26 in the tournament.