No rust, no problem for the Marengo Academy Longhorns volleyball team Thursday as they dismantled the visiting Monroe Academy Volunteers three games to none, 25-17, 25-22, and 25-12.

The Longhorns jumped out to big early leads in all three sets, starting with an 8-1 advantage in the opening set. A serving run by Brooke Miller pushed the lead to 17-8 before Monroe got their feet under them and closed the gap to five at 21-16. But back-to-back kills from Ashley Stokes and Chelsea Etheridge ended the Volunteer comeback and Marengo took game 1 25-17.

The second game followed a very similar pattern, except that the Volunteer comeback came much closer to pushing the game into extra points. Another Stokes service run took the Longhorn lead from 12-8 to 17-8, but Monroe chipped away at the lead and drew within one at 22-21. But big plays from Christina Allen, Kaleigh Robison, and Heather Mathis finished the game off at 25-22.

Monroe appeared to be out of gas after their big comeback and the Longhorns took advantage to never let the Volunteers close in game 3. Back-to-back-to-back kills from Etheridge preceded three straight aces by Abbey Huckabee and Monroe was down 11-1 before earning their first service point. Good work by Amber Walker in the middle helped Marengo keep a comfortable working margin and Huckabee served out the game for a 25-12 win and a 3-0 match sweep.