FAIRHOPE, Ala.—The Lady Pirates bounced back from a first-game loss to win the next three sets for a 3-1 area victory over visiting Daphne Tuesday. The 15-25, 25-13, 25-15, 25-13 scores keep Fairhope unbeaten in 6A Area 3 (7-0, 19-7) with only Robertsdale’s Golden Bears (5-1, 19-18) left on the league schedule.

The Lady Trojans fell to 2-4 in the area. The regular-season winner will host the area tournament.

Fairhope head coach Melissa Knight said Daphne came out aggressively and didn’t buckle in the first game. But she was happy to see her team respond to the pressure of falling behind early then applying consistent pressure of their own.

“Daphne did a great job of serving us tough and of digging our attacks on defense,” she said. “Although as a team we didn't play our best match, I am proud that the girls pulled together and found a way to win. Both Katie Bayley and Ellie Johnson did a great job from the service line, which really helped us gain back the momentum. My hope is that we continue to play as a team and continue to increase our tempo on offense. Consistency is key at this stage in the season and is something we are working to improve upon on as a team.”

Daphne coach Edoli Herrion said consistency and lack of experience has been a problem as only three players have starting varsity experience and significant experience together.

“I’m really proud of my girls the way they came out and didn’t let up in that first game,” she said. “They did a lot of the things we worked on well, played a complete start-to-finish game and that gave us success. We did some things real well and we’re starting to play better, but like tonight, we lost the momentum and you can’t do that against a good team. The last time we played them they beat us in three so I think we picked up some confidence, we just need to keep the momentum and pressure up  and finish with more consistency. It still takes a team of six working together out there and we are young this year, but getting better.”

Fairhope’s Johnson had 10 kills with 22 service winners and two aces, Bayley led in assists with 23 and scored 20 points from the line with one ace, Katelyn Hayes had 10 kills, Rickie Lee Constant came up with nine kills and four blocks, Carrighan Rockwell added three. Brittney Domino provided nine digs and Catherine Knight had seven digs for the Pirates.

Daphne leaders were Suzanne Evans with five kills, two blocks, 14 digs and 20 assists; Cierra Harris with nine kills; Kaydie Messer with five kills, two digs; Sandra Cross with 10 digs, one ace and Jordan Filotei with 17 digs and three aces.

The Pirates play at Robertsdale Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The Trojans play at Saraland Oct. 10 at 4:30 p.m.