The Mansfield Sr Lady Tigers took to the court Monday night to show their net worth against the Booneville Lady Bearcats. These sets weren’t merely edge-of-the-seat matches, these were matches so tight and frantic that fans rarely even took a seat. The Lady Tigers and Lady Bearcats definitely put on quite the show, but it was the Lady Tigers who wound up victorious with a 2 to 0 set victory for the Sr JV squad and a thrilling 3 to 2 set win for the Sr Lady Tigers.
The Lady Tigers JV squad was up first and made short work of Booneville with a quick 25-11 first set victory. Spikes, aces, digs, and flares flew directly at the Lady Bearcats’ feet as the tone of the night was set in play. Booneville had enough of that in the second set though as the Lady Bearcats clawed their way into a close final set. The Lady Bearcats shot some solid purple power at Mansfield, but in the end, it was the Lady Tigers who wound up victorious with a 25-20 final set to close the JV match out with a 2-0 win.
As the Sr Lady Tigers came through the spirit line, the stadium erupted with excitement to see the defending 2A State Champs take on a tough as leather Lady Bearcats team. Mansfield jumped to an early lead with a fast-paced 25-16 first set win. Cakewalk right? Well, Booneville made sure to bake in a few bricks in that cake and the Lady Tigers began to chip their teeth in the second set as Booneville rolled to a 25-21 second set victory. With confidence on their side now, Booneville was ready to set Mansfield back on their heels. Set three was the defining set for both teams as the claws came out in this catfight and fur began to fly on the court. Back and forth the match went with neither team gaining traction. The third set fell in the Lady Tigers’ favor though as they finished with a 27-25 edge.
The exhaustion on both teams began to show in the fourth set as mental mistakes kicked in and players began making costly errors. Mansfield took the lead but the Lady Bearcats swiped it back. Booneville landed a lead, but the Lady Tigers snagged that lead back again. The fourth set was literally back and forth with the home stands cheering followed immediately by the visitor’s erupting. Booneville forced a fifth set in Tiger Stadium with a 31-29 fourth set victory. It came down to all or nothing for both teams as they entered the rarely seen fifth set of the match. With the Lady Tigers and Lady Bearcats completely gassed, the game would boil down to who had the overhanded upper hand. As everyone’s eyes followed the ball in a trance-like state, the final set was worth the wait for Mansfield fans as the Lady Tigers edged out Booneville 15-11.
