Silverdale Baptist Academy started strong in Tuesday's high school volleyball match against Arts & Sciences -- and ended stronger.
The host Lady Seahawks scored the match's first four points, and its last 10, and defeated CSAS 3-0 in their first District 5-A match of the season. Game scores were 25-11, 25-13, 25-9.
Two of the things Silverdale (6-4) did well were things that haven't necessarily been its strong suits thus far. One was hitting, or at least finding open spots in the Lady Patriots' defense.
"We're still working on that," Silverdale coach Rhonda Hawkins said. "We're working on hitting our spots, reaching high and hitting on top of the ball."
MacKenzie Harris led the hitting for the Lady Seahawks with eight kills -- three coming in the 10-0 finish. Molly Kane and Vanessa Silvers totaled five apiece.
Hawkins said the other area of concern has been serving. Katelyn Couch, Regan Robertson and Kerri Whitaker each had three aces Tuesday.
"That's been one of our struggles," Hawkins said. "If we're able to serve and pass, we'll do well. Our serving was there moreso tonight than it was over the weekend."
The Lady Seahawks must have done something well over the weekend. They tied for third in the Bradley Bash at Bradley Central in a field with mostly higher-classification teams.
CSAS (1-4) is now 0-2 in the district, its other loss coming Monday against Boyd-Buchanan. The Lady Bucs, who have played in the last two state finals, are reigning district champions, but Lady Patriots coach Brandon Lowry said they should beware.
"Silverdale plays fundamental ball," Lowry said. "They make you beat yourself. They make very few mistakes. In order to beat them, you've got to have the same style of play."
The Lady Patriots had 17 opportunities with spikes and had 14 hitting errors. They also had 23 passing errors that led directly to Silverdale points.
Lowry said his team is just now trying to find an identity. Five of his players were unable to attend many preseason workouts because of jobs they had, and setter Liana Rodrigues was in Singapore visiting an aunt she's rarely seen.
"We've just gotten all of our starters playing together for a week and a half," Lowry said.
Briana Wesley, one of two seniors who play regularly, led the net play for CSAS with five kills and three blocks. Resnick Billen led in digs with 14.
Robertson paced Silverdale with 21 assists, and libero Whitaker had 14 digs.