The Demopolis Lady Tigers volleyball team defeated John Essex High School in straight sets Monday night (25-5, 25-7, 25-5).

For Demopolis, the match gave them the opportunity to work on serving consistently heading into a long road schedule.

“We got to work on serving consistently tonight,” head coach Blythe Smith said. “We didn’t have a lot of opportunity to run our offense, but we did well serving tonight.”

In the first set, the score was tied 2-2 when Jade Montgomery began serving for the Lady Tigers. She helped her team to eight straight points in the set. Leading 11-3, Riley King took over serving duties, and the Lady Tigers strung together 11 straight points to lead 23-4 before finishing off the Hornets in the set.

In the second set, Ivery Moore served to start off the set, and the Tigers led 5-0 before giving up a point. Leading 6-2, Montgomery took over again, helping the Lady Tigers to 11 straight points, and a 17-3 lead.

Katie Marques finished off the set serving for the Lady Tigers for the 25-7 win.

The final set saw much of the same, with Moore giving Demopolis a 7-0 lead before surrendering a point. Montgomery served for 13 straight points in this set, giving Demopolis a 21-4 lead before the Lady Tigers finished off the Hornets.

Caleb Washington and Brianna Pruitt made some good plays at the net, and freshman Abbe Sims got significant playing time.

The Lady Tigers are on the road until Oct. 1 against Selma. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Demopolis travels to Greenville, then to Selma on Thursday, Sept. 12.