By Luke Strickland
JONESBORO — The Jonesboro Lady Cardinals continued their winning ways Thursday night with a dominating performance against Bradwell Institute in the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs. Jonesboro won in straight sets to advance to the next round.
Jonesboro won by scores of 25-7, 25-9 and 25-0. The Lady Cardinals never trailed at any point and used their energy and serving to cruise to victory. In Set 1, Jonesboro went on a 12-2 run in the middle of the set and never looked back. Set 2 saw the Lady Cardinals score 16 of the first 20 points, and the they got out to a 10-1 lead in Set 3.
Nia Thomas dominated as an outside hitter, recording 13 kills in the match and often finishing off points for the Lady Cardinals. Tenay Minus (nine kills) and Cayla Brown (seven kills) also provided strong play at the net. Jenae Thomas orchestrated the attack with 17 assists, and Jaelyn Franklin added 13 service points.
The victory was Jonesboro’s 25th straight dating back to Aug. 29. The Lady Cardinals will play their second round matchup next Tuesday at home against Johns Creek, who swept Alexander in the first round Thursday.
