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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

WEST BLOCTON – The Montevallo Bulldogs looked to continue their winning ways in area play, but to go 2-0 in the area, they would have to survive a road encounter with their rivals, the West Blocton Tigers.

The Bulldogs not only survived the away test, but thrived, taking the match over the Tigers, 3-0.

In the first set, Montevallo got out to a solid lead, and the Bulldogs eventually closed out the set to earn a 25-18 win.

With the win in the first set, Montevallo went up 1-0 in the match, and that first frame set the tone for the rest of the match.

The Bulldogs maintained an even wider lead down the stretch in the second set, ensuring the Tigers didn’t have a chance to tie up the match with a set win.

Montevallo ended up winning the second set, 25-15, which put the Bulldogs up 2-0 in the match and just a set away from victory.

However, the Tigers did not make the third set easy for the Bulldogs. West Blocton lurked closely behind at the end, with the Tigers down just two points as Montevallo was on match point.

Ultimately, Montevallo saw out the third set and came out on top with a 25-22 win, which gave the Bulldogs the straight set win.

Zoe Jones had another standout night for the Bulldogs offense with 22 kills and a +.514 hitting percentage. She also recorded nine aces and seven digs for a strong all-around night. Hunter Jordan also reached double-digit kills, as she earned 10 kills and a block.

Emeli Guardado and Jaida Heath split the assist duties, earning 24 and nine assists, respectively. Guardado also won three aces on the service line, while over on defense, Heath earned five digs along with her teammate, Riley Fletcher.

With the win, Montevallo improves to 2-0 in area play and 9-8 on the season. The Bulldogs will have a week before their last two area play matchups of the regular season.

In the meantime, Montevallo will host county foe Vincent on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m., while the Bulldogs will travel to Birmingham to face Holy Family Catholic on Thursday, Sept. 21 at the same time.