The Jackson girls volleyball team defeated the Dexter Bearcats in straight sets on Thursday at the Jackson High School Event Center.

At first glance a straight-set victory makes one think the Indians outplayed Dexter and cruised to an easy win. The scores of each set tell another story, 25-23, 25-15 and 25-18, a battle to the end with Jackson having to scrape out a SEMO Conference win.

Indians head coach David Mirly complimented the Bearcats saying they made things hard on his team but he is happy with how his team responded.

“My players are so young in their varsity experience and they wanted to play so well. Dexter made things hard on us right off the bat, and that kind of took some of our energy away from us, and it took us a while to rebound from. So kudos to Dexter, I think that's the best Dexter has played us in probably four years,” Mirly said. “They did a really good job of making things hard, and as much as we struggled at times, we still found a way to win when we didn’t play well that first set. So that was huge for us to come back and get that victory and throughout the night we did a lot of really good things.”

Set number one was a tough, back-and-forth affair with neither team having more than a two-point lead. Set two went well for Jackson as the Indians jumped out to a 21-8 lead, then the Bearcats closed on a 7-3 run before Jackson’s set point ended things. Set three was another close battle, neck-and-neck until 19-17 when the Indians started a 6-1 run for the win.

Mirly said the difference was the hype of the first home game lessening and his team settling down.

“In the second set, we relaxed and we were enjoying playing volleyball. We were enjoying each other and when we did that we played at a higher level. It showed in that second set, and then the third set we tried to do that, and we did at times. Dexter also played a lot better in the third set, which made it a little closer,” Mirly said. “But overall, we got the win and I'm happy with them because they did fight through some adversity. We learned that we've got to make sure we come out with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.”

Jackson was led on offense by senior Katy St. John and freshman Avery Brune with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Also adding the the offense was freshman Laura Dorey with 19 assists. On defense, the Indians were led by senior Katy Wondel with four blocks and a dig.

Jackson will host the Jackson Multi-State Showcase on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. with Northpoint High School (MS), Dyer County High School (TN) and St. Clair High School (MO)