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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Thompson Warriors found themselves at the end of their rope multiple times during their area match at the Oak Mountain Eagles. However, just as they have throughout the season, they fought back and secured the win.

Thompson overcame a spirited effort from Oak Mountain to win 3-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at Oak Mountain High School, putting the Warriors one win away from wrapping up area tournament hosting rights.

The Eagles took command of the match with a close opening set win before battling for the lead through much of the remainder of the match.

After trading the first few points, Oak Mountain took the early 5-2 lead. Thompson quickly tied it back up at 5-5 before the Eagles took command with a 4-0 run, forcing a timeout.

It was all Warriors out of the break though as they went on a 7-1 run that was only interrupted by a service error. Maddy Henderson put the statement on the run with a kill for the lead, and Thompson soon led 12-10. The Warriors remained in front for the next stretch, using a Jayla Green kill to go up 15-12 into an Oak Mountain timeout.

The Eagles kept it close before eventually taking the lead at 18-17 off a pair of Warriors errors. While the next few points saw both teams commit mistakes, the offenses eventually took control back and traded kills.

Then, after a 22-22 tie, Oak Mountain grabbed the lead with a kill and put the set away with back-to-back Caroline Whitehurst aces. Those sealed the 25-22 win for the Eagles and put them up 1-0 in the match.

The second set was even closer than the first set with just a few points separating the teams during the first half. Oak Mountain held the advantage through most of it though until Thompson capitalized on an Eagles service error. Jayla Green got a kill to tie before a Lauren Blackmon ace for the 12-11 lead.

While the Eagles won the next point, the Warriors made their move for good shortly after. The visitors won the next three points for a 15-12 lead, and even though Oak Mountain called timeout, it wouldn’t lead again the rest of the set.

Another short Thompson run put it in front 22-16 to set up the final stretch. Henderson used a kill and an ace to put the Warriors on set point at 24-17. While the Eagles broke serve with an Alexis Heard kill, Jayla Green responded with a kill of her own to take the 25-18 win, evening up the match at 1-1.

After splitting the first six points, Oak Mountain grabbed hold of the momentum with a 4-0 run, starting with a Thompson hitting error and building off it with back-to-back Betsy Smith aces.

Thompson tied the game after the timeout but wouldn’t lead until the 10-9 mark after an Olivia Green ace. The lead soon flipped back in the Eagles’ favor thanks to back-to-back aces from Whitehurst for the 14-12 advantage.

Oak Mountain then grew its lead to 18-14 before Thompson made its move.

The Warriors flipped the serve within two points of a timeout and handed the ball to Kenzly Foote. She orchestrated another big-time run in a career full of them, this time a 5-0 rally for a 19-18 lead.

The teams then traded kills to leave themselves in a 20-20 balance, and Thompson took command from there. A Henderson kill and Olivia Green ace started a 5-1 run to end the set, and for the second-straight set, the Warriors needed a side-out kill to cap it off, this time from Henderson for the 25-21 win and 2-1 match lead.

Oak Mountain responded in resounding fashion to open the fourth set on a 5-1 run and force an early timeout. However, Thompson responded in kind with a 5-0 run anchored by Foote on the serve to take a 6-5 lead.

The Eagles quickly retook an 8-6 lead, but the momentum flipped again with a 5-1 Warriors run, including a Samantha Johanson ace to take the lead. Oak Mountain then won six-straight points to flip the 12-10 deficit into a 16-12 advantage, putting Thompson on the ropes yet again.

However, the back-and-forth continued as the Warriors tied the set at 16-16. Thompson then retook the lead at 18-17 with a Henderson kill after Jayla Green dug out a hard Eagles shot.

The Eagles took timeout right after and then again after another Henderson kill made it 20-17, but the damage was done. Oak Mountain kept breaking serve and staying close, and a couple of Thompson miscues forced a third set point at the 24-22 mark.

Brielle Merriweather finished off the fourth set just like the previous two, with a side-out kill to seal the 25-22 win and take the 3-1 match win.

The Warriors improved to 18-5 overall and 3-0 in Class 7A, Area 5. A win in Thursday, Sept. 25’s regular-season area finale against the Hoover Buccaneers will not only clinch the regular season area title, but also a perfect 4-0 area record. First serve is set for 6 p.m. that night at Warrior Arena.

The Eagles dropped to 12-13 on the year and 2-1 in area play. Oak Mountain will be in tournament action on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Hewitt-Trussville High School in the Husky Challenge, with initial matches scheduled against the Oxford Yellow Jackets, Gadsden City Titans and Northridge Jaguars.