Area volleyball fans have come to appreciate the sport's fast pace combined with plenty of high-flying action.  But don't take my word for it; just ask anyone that was in the Wolfe City High School gym Friday night to watch their hometown Lady Wolves win a nail-biter over the visiting Bells Lady Panthers.

Wolfe City won the opener, 27-25.  Bells bounced back to claim game two, 31-29, and it took a tie-breaker fifth game to finally decide the winner.

The Lady Wolves raced out to a 5-0 advantage in the first contest, fueled by a Kealy Gaggney kill and a pair of kills by Hailey Giles.  A block and a kill by Kristen Reamy helped Wolfe City go up 9-3.  Lindsay Wilkinson also had an early kill for the Lady Wolves, but the Lady Panthers made their move.  Behind Lauren Moore's four kills, Bells pulled even and then pulled away to suddenly lead 21-15.  Kirsten Keene drilled a pair of aces through the Wolfe City defense and Bailie Martin had two kills as the Lady Panthers went up 24-20.   But the Lady Wolves stormed back.  Wilkinson had a kill and a block, Martin knocked down two kills and Mandy Bruce slammed the door on Bells with a pair of kills that gave Wolfe City a 27-25 victory.

Game two was even better.  Once again, the Lady Wolves grabbed an early lead only to see the Lady Panthers charge in front.  A 3-0 Wolfe City Lead turned into a 14-10 advantage by Bells.  A seven-point run put the Lady Wolves back on top, 17-14.  Whitney Jeffrey's kill allowed Bells to pull even at 19-19.  The teams traded points all the way to 29-29.  A net infraction gave the Lady Panther a 30-29 lead and an ensuing kill by Martin gave Bells an exciting 31-29 win in game two.

In the third game, Wolfe City opened up a five-point lead in the middle of the game and made it stand up in a 25-19 victory.

Bells answered with a 25-19 win in the fourth game to even up the match.

In the tiebreaker, Hilary Monk nailed a back-row kill to give Bells a 1-0 start.  Two kills by Giles and a tip to an open spot by Bruce helped the Lady Wolves double up on the Lady Panthers, 6-3.  Bells trimmed the margin to 7-6 when Moore dropped in a kill and Chelsea Robinson followed with a pair of timely kills.  Bruce's kill gave Wolfe City an 8-6 advantage, however Bells manage to knot the score at 8-8.  A kill by Giles gave Wolfe City the lead for good, though, and the Lady Wolves finished strong to capture a thrilling 15-10 win in game five.