ALPINE – The Jessica Tully-Mitchell era began with a flourish Tuesday evening in Alpine, as the Fort Stockton Prowlers volleyball squad took on the host Lady Bucks and the Wink Lady Wildcats in a triangular match. The Prowlers defeated Alpine 26-24, 24-26, 22-25, 25-22 and 1816. In the second game of the night, the Prowlers fell to Wink 14-25, 22-25, 25-22 and 22-25.

Returning six key players from a season ago, the Prowlers are looking to finish as one of the top four teams within the district. The team has worked hard throughout the summer via the school’s strength and conditioning program and they’re looking to translate that hard work to the hardwood.

“The girls fought for every point versus Alpine,” Head Coach Jessica Tully-Mitchell said. “A long twohour match will tell you a lot about a team, and these girls are showing fight and tenacity. After Alpine, they had eight minutes of rest before going up against a very offensive Wink. The first set was us catching our breath, but then we battled back. We had too many errors, but for the first and second match of the season, the girls showed what they are capable of.”

With a junior heavy squad leading the junior varsity, the volleyball program is looking to strengthen the future of Prowler Volleyball. Although the Prowlers looked great on the court, they were unable to secure a victory against either opponent. The junior varsity squad fell to Alpine 25-14, 22-25 and 20-25. The team also fell to Wink 25-19, 23-25 and 23-25.

The freshman squad competed well in their first high school contest. They faced Alpine and came out victorious. Valeria Marquez recorded three aces on the serve. Enayeli Acosta did a good job at protecting the net, while getting two single blocks.

Fort Stockton’s Volleyball teams will participate in the Monahans Tournament August 10-12. The freshmen and junior varsity squads will participate in pool play on Thursday, while the varsity will compete in pool play on Friday. All teams will be back in Monahans on Saturday for bracket play. For more information regarding the volleyball team and their tournament schedule, please visit the Prowler Volleyball Facebook page.

*The Prowlers wrapped up pre-season scrimmages last Friday at Greenwood with a strong showing.

“We came out and worked on things that we saw at (Thursday’s) scrimmages and really just had fun,” Tully-Mitchell said. “Each team improved today, but we will go back to practice and perfect some of those skills that need some extra attention.”

The Fort Stockton Prowler Volleyball program opened their season at the Andrews Lady Mustang Scrimmages Thursday, its first under the direction of first-year head coach Jessica Tully-Mitchell, and the Prowlers showed tremendous growth from just a season ago.

“Today was a great showing and I’m super excited about the season,” Tully-Mitchell said. “We still need to work on perfecting the little things, but I’m sure their hard work will help continue to propel us in the right direction as a program.”

Sera Ramirez and Shawn Yorks contributed to this report.