PINEVILLE — North Laurel opened its 2026 volleyball season on the road Monday with an impressive four-set victory over Pineville.
The Lady Jaguars battled past the Lady Mountain Lions, 25-15, 24-26, 25-23, 25-15, in a competitive season-opening matchup between two evenly-matched squads.
“I’m super proud of this team,” North Laurel coach Angela Singleton said. “They had the momentum during the first set then into the second set we struggled. Had too many missed serves and couldn’t get anything going. It’s hard to keep the energy when you lose five serves in a row. But they battled back and over came the adversity tonight. I’m excited to see what all they accomplish this year. Hard fought win! Go Jags.”
North Laurel came out strong in the opening set, taking control on its way to a 25-15 victory and a 1-0 advantage.
Pineville responded in the second set.
The Lady Mountain Lions jumped out to an 11-4 lead, but North Laurel refused to go away. The Lady Jaguars battled back and eventually pulled even before Pineville escaped with a 26-24 victory to tie the match at one set apiece.
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the night with neither team able to create much separation.
North Laurel came through when it mattered most, edging Pineville, 25-23, to regain the advantage.
The Lady Jaguars then saved their best effort for the fourth set.
After three competitive sets, North Laurel took control in the finale and pulled away for a 25-15 victory to close out the match, 3-1.
Despite the loss, Pineville looks like they’ll be a team to reckon with this season.
“Tough loss but happy with how we battled,” Pineville coach Jon North said. “We wanted to start the season playing one of the top teams in the region and North was definitely a worthy opponet. Our offense looked great and we scraped out several long rallies. A lot of our errors were self inflicted, we had 23 service errors on the night which is unacceptable for the goals we have this season. Overall, I love my team and our sights are set high, especially after tonight’s loss.”
