The Lana Johnson era at Pike Liberal Arts  began on Thursday afternoon when the Lady Patriots volleyball team headed to Luverne to take on rival Crenshaw Christian.

The Lady Patriots got the first win out of the way when they knocked out the Lady Cougars in straight sets 25-19, 25-13, 25-21.

It was the first of what will be 14 regular season matches for the Johnson led Patriots. Despite it being game one on Thursday, Johnson didn’t see her players play with much nerves.

“I feel the girls were ready,” Johnson said. “We had great communication on the court. Our girls did great on the net.”

Working the nets was a point of emphasis for the Patriots heading into the game and Johnson believes the work paid off.

“We have worked hard on not pushing the ball over the net, but getting our hits in and they did a great job of that tonight.”

Mary Ramage accumulated seven assists and five ace serves. Grace Rushing led the team with three kills. In the second game on Thursday, Ally Rushing had 10-straight serving points to help the Patriots pull off the 12-point win.

Aubrey Maulden finished the match with 11 digs.

The Lady Patriots will play their second match of the season on Monday when they travel to take on Abbeville. The junior varsity team will begin the afternoon at 4:00 with the varsity following after.

The Patriots will host their first match of the season on August 27 against Morgan Academy.