PEMBROKE — West Bladen tallied five first-half goals, some during a downpour, and handed Purnell Swett a 5-2 non-conference loss on Monday.
Christian Diego put the Knights on the board almost instantly with a goal in the first minute. The Knights went on to put four more goals in the net — one with the assistance of a Rams player. Jorchael Gonzalez had two goals and Seth Britt scored once for West Bladen.
Gonzalez, Diego and Ray Jones each had an assist.
Purnell Swett scored a single goal in each half against Knights goaltender Anthony Sebastian, who had seven saves in the match.
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Tennis
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— For the second match in a row, the Lady Knights were knocked off the courts by Mother Nature.
Fairmont’s Lady Tornadoes came to town Monday for a non-conference match with West Bladen, but rain halted play midway through the doubles matches with Fairmont leading, 4-3.
In singles action, the Lady Knights got wins from Amber Long at No. 2, 8-1, and from Haley Dimery at No. 5, 8-4. West Bladen’s Alanna Ludlum dropped a close match at No. 1 by an 8-5 score, while Helen Lopez lost a tough one at No. 3 by an 8-6 verdict and Madison Singletary dropped an 8-4 match at No. 4. Rachel Bryan lost 8-2 at No. 6 for the Lady Knights.
In doubles action, Ludlum and Long teamed for an 8-2 victory before the weather moved in and stopped the action. At the time, No. 2 duo Lopez and Singletary trailed 3-2 and the No. 3 team of Dimery and Jordan Staton were down 4-2.
The completion of the match will be held when West Bladen travels to Fairmont for a second match on Sept. 2.
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Volleyball
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— In Dublin on Monday, the Lady Knights fell to visiting Fairmont in a non-conference match by the scores of 25-19, 25-10 and 25-20.
“The girls played much better and are beginning to click as a team,” said West Bladen coach Gaye Davis.
Logan Autry led the Lady Knights with nine service winners and four kills, while Kassidy Anderson had two kills, Morgan Schumacher had three kills and two blocks, and Kaylee Stevens had two aces.
— In Elizabethtown on Monday, the Lady Gators of East Columbus squeaked past East Bladen by the scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-23 and 26-24.
Several Lady Eagles filled the stat sheet, as Claire Campbell led the way with 20 service winners, three aces and five kills. Miller Heustess tallied 25 assists and five kills; Lacey Suggs had 12 service points with six aces and three kills; Lexie mendell contributed 10 kills and two aces; Hannah DeVane had three kills; and Anna Grace Long and Alexa Hernandez each had two kills.