Blythe Jackson lofts the ball over a blocking St. Pauls player.

Blythe Jackson lofts the ball over a blocking St. Pauls player.

The Lady Dark Horses continues to wade through Southeastern Athletic 2A Conference play with Monday’s matchup against new conference foe, St. Paul’s. Clinton swept the Lady Bulldogs in straight sets.

St. Paul’s opened the first set with a fast start that seemed to catch the Lady Horses off kilter. The Lady Bulldogs had built a 10-5 lead before Clinton called a timeout to regroup and try to foment a response. As volleyball so often is, the frame turned into a game of runs. Erasing the deficit, the Lady Horses turned what was a five point deficit into a 26-24 set one win.

Set two was not nearly as tight. Just as Clinton seemed off balance in the early goings of the first, St. Paul’s looked the same after letting that frame slip from them. The Lady Bulldogs, however, could not get settled and got thumped 25-12.

While the second set was a blowout, the third and final frame was in doubt the entire way. St. Paul and Clinton traded the lead on what seemed like every serve until the Lady Horses opened up a slim 10-7 advantage. In a must win situation, St. Pauls called for time to stop the bleeding and keep the set within reach.

The timeout did give the Lady Bulldogs a reset as they came out of the breather on a run that culminated in a 15-13 lead, before CHS called for time themselves.

Mirroring the first, the Lady Horses came back to win this third set, 26-24, for a straight sets sweep.

Following Monday’s win, Clinton also took wins over West Bladen and East Bladen.

Clinton improved to 11-3 overall with the wins, but Clinton is still undefeated in conference play at 6-0. Rounding the turn in league play, the Lady Horses are a game head of Midway atop the standings.

Clinton will return to action on Tuesday when the host Fairmont followed by a trip to Red Springs on Thursday.

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].