Loyd Cook Photo Chelsea Chambers (6) sets the ball for Bearettes teammate Shelbi Holt (12) during a match against the Fairfield Lady Eagles Tuesday. It was a match between the No. 1 and No. 2 volleyball squads of District 20AAA from last year.

And these ladies took no prisoners.

The defending district champion Fairfield Lady Eagles (2-0) jumped out early, winning the first two games of the match against the Brownsboro Bearettes (1- 1) 25-19 and 25-17.

And the Lady Eagles went up 5-1 early in the third game that could have ended the match in a sweep for Fairfield.

That wasn't exactly what the Bearettes had in mind.

Brownsboro got the score back to 6-6 in the third game, then rode a nine point run on the serve of BearetteAlex Conwayto go up 21-11 before the streak was broken.

Fairfield narrowed the gap some, but Brownsboro held the Lady Eagles at bay to take that third game, 25-17, and get back into the match.

Loyd Cook Photo Hope Rambin (12) gets a return back on a last effort for a point as during the junior varsity win over Fairfield Tuesday. The battle back was welcomed by Bearettes head coach Becky Daughtry.

"It was a lot of focus on the part of the ladies," Daughtry said. "And a lot of heart ... and I'm proud of them."

Daughtry's squad continued the battle in Game 4 of the match, riding the momentum from the third game out to a 4- 0 lead on the serve of Chelsea Chambers and a couple of finesse tips at the net by middle blocker Haley Shaffer.

Shaffer would have four spikes after that point to help fend off Lady Eagles comebacks and she was aided by Caitlin Collins and Shelbi Holt as Brownsboro moved the lead out to 24-17 before Amye Scarborough nailed the game point with a cross court kill.

With the match evened at two games apiece, it came down to a fifth game which, by rule, ends at 15 points.

Loyd Cook Photo Kylie Bridges hits a line drive that tips the net and falls over for a point in the freshman Bearettes match against the Fairfield Lady Eagles Tuesday. The Bearettes fell two games to one in that match. It was a seesaw deciding game.

The score was tied at 3, then at 7, at 10 and 11 before Fairfield edged out to a 14-11 lead and in possession of triple match point.

But a service change point, and a Shaffer block at the net and a kill to the sideline evened the match at 14 before Fairfield managed the final two points for the necessary margin of victory at 16-14 and took the match.

Last season, Brownsboro had only two district losses for the year and they were both at the hands of Fairfield. The Bearettes were ready to notch a win over the Lady Eagles, Daughtry said.

"It was tough," the coach said of the loss. "But it's a lot of good lessons learned. We know what we have to do now.

"(Tonight) we just made crucil mistakes at crucial times."

JV wins, freshmen fall

The junior varsity Bearettes defeated their Fairfield counterparts in a three-game match by a count of 25-16, 23-25 and 25-12.

Up 15-14 in the first game, they ran off four points, dropped a point, then four more to go out to a 23-16 lead before polishing it off.

Game 2 saw them down by 10-17, then rallying back to a 23-23 tie before dropping the game by two points.

A 14-point run on Paige Goggans serve in the final game of the match put Brownsboro up 23-11 before a Chelsea Holcomb spike on game point sealed the match.

The freshmen Bearettes won the first game of their match handily, 25-14, before they dropped the next two, 17-25 and 22-25.