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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Oak Mountain volleyball team continued a hot stretch of play on Thursday, Sept. 7, as the Eagles pulled away with three easy set victories against rival Chelsea to improve to 2-0 in area play.

The Eagles entered the game with three consecutive wins of at least 3-1, including back-to-back sweeps of Hewitt-Trussville and Homewood.

That confidence was apparent early from Oak Mountain as they put together a dominant opening set and used that to create a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-20) sweep.

In the opening set, the Eagles set the tone with their most dominant set of the night, creating early separation and pulling away for a comfortable 11-point win of 25-16 for the early 1-0 lead.

From there, Oak Mountain took advantage of the momentum over the next two sets.

In the second set, a tighter battle ensued, but Oak Mountain created the late separation to pick up the first of two consecutive five-point victories with a 25-20 win.

That put the Eagles in a 2-0 advantage, while the Hornets faced a situation of needing to win three consecutive sets to pick up the victory.

That pressure became too much for Chelsea, as Oak Mountain capitalized and finished strong with a third-set victory of 25-20 to complete the straight-set rivalry victory.

The Eagles were led by Lauren Schuessler with 15 kills in a strong night at the net, while Emma Hawkins totaled 17 assists and nine digs to lead the team in both of those categories.

Saiya Patel led the team with four aces, while Jenna Burson added two blocks.