The McClain Lady Tigers claimed first place in the Spike and Dig volleyball tournament hosted by the Hillsboro Lady Indians on Saturday at Hillsboro High School. The Lady Tigers beat the host Indians in the championship match to claim the victory.

In the first match of the day the Lady Tigers defeated the Whiteoak Lady Cats in two sets to advance to the championship game.

The Lady Tigers were led by Chayden Pitzer who was 5-6 serving with two aces, 13 -14 on attacks with six kills, and completed 19 – 21 passes. Hunter Scott and MaKenzie Montavon both had two aces for the Lady Tigers as well.

The championship game featured the girls from Hillsboro and the girls from Greenfield in a three set thriller that had both teams sweating the outcome until the final moments.

The Lady Tigers took the first set by a score of 25 – 20, lost the second set by a score of 17 – 25, and finally claimed a narrow 25 – 23 victory in the last and final set to take home the win.

The Lady Tigers were full of energy the entire day and really communicated well with one another on the court.

McClain was led by Cierra Bolender who went 11 – 11 serving with four aces. Pitzer led the Tigers with 14 – 18 attacks and 14 kills.

Defensively the Lady Tigers stepped up with a total of five solo blocks. Liz Kelley led the way with three solo blocks to help lead her team to victory.

Speaking after the game McClain coach Taylor Alsop said, “The girls did a great job of keeping their momentum quick. There were a few times that they lost focus but they were able to re-focus on their goal.”

The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Southeastern High School for their next match.

Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.