After going 2-3 over the weekend at the Conyers Classic volleyball tournament over the weekend, Alcoy was unable to sustain momentum as it dropped a non-region match against Rockdale Tuesday 25-21, 18-25 and 18-25.

The Lady Tigers took the first game with little trouble. Each team traded points throughout the game but Alcovy never trailed. With the game tied 19-19, the Lady Tigers closed it out with a 6-3 run sparked by Leah Anderson’s second kill of the game at 21-19.

"We played very well in the first game," Alcovy coach Amanda Briggs said. "I was pleased with how the girls communicated and we played well at the net.

Rockdale regrouped in the second game and was able to fight back after the Lady Tigers opened on a 5-2 run. Alcovy pushed its lead to 14-10 before Rockdale began chipping away. With the lead at 17-14, the Lady Tigers struggled to get out of serve receive and Rockdale scored eight straight points to take its first lead late in the game. Alcovy never recovered and the Lady Bulldogs closed the game on 4-1 run.

"We didn’t close it out," Briggs said. "We stopped communicating and made some stupid mistakes. We can’t do that and expect to win."

Not much went Alcovy’s way in the final game as Rockdale kept the momentum and raced to the 25-18 win to take the match.

"We are so inconsistent," Briggs said. "It isn’t from lack off effort. The girls are trying but we make too many simple mistakes and we have to correct that."

Alcovy came into Tuesday’s game hoping to capitalize on a solid outing Saturday at the Conyers Classic. After dropping their first two games, the Lady Tigers made it deep into the bronze round by beating Morgan County twice to advance. East Hall finally knocked Alcovy out but the two wins give Briggs’ team seven so far and one more than the school had in 2007. In her first year as head coach, Briggs has managed to coach a team of relative newcomers and build a team that is more competitive than in year’s past.

"I am really proud of how we have done for the most part," she said. "It’s nice to surpass last year’s win total. I guess it means the girls are learning something."

With two weeks left in the season, Briggs said she wants to improve on that record and believes reaching double digit in wins is obtainable.

"I definitely think we can win at least 10 games, maybe more," she said. "I am going to talk with the girls about it and we are going to do what we can to make that happen."