By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DMS Lady Bearcats continued their winning ways on the volleyball court Tuesday night. Both squads recorded victories over the Bernie Mules in the annual 'Hits for Hope' fundraiser, with all proceeds going to 18 FORE Life.

The seventh grade squad had a tough test in their match; they were forced to go to three sets for the first time this season. Head coach Melissa Hahn - who was also in her first three-set matchup as a coach - was proud of her team's effort in the high-pressure situation.

"That was tough; it was tough for me, because I've never been to three sets as a coach. They pulled it out and I was proud of them for that," she said. "It was good for them to see that pressure, so we could find out how they would do. I wasn't thrilled with the second set; we got down and it took us a while to get back up, and we need to work on that. The seventh grade also needs to work on serve-receive. Our girls have relied on their serving in the last few games, but there were times that they weren't ready for it to come back over."

The seventh graders posted 25-7 wins in the first and third sets, with Bernie taking the second set 18-25. Ashlyn Wyman and Lexi May led the way with 12 and eight point rallies for the Lady 'Cats.

In the eighth grade contest, the Lady 'Cats cruised to 25-10 and 25-4 victories. Ashlyn Werneck and Julia Hahn both posted seven serve rallies for the Lady 'Cats in the second set.

"I was extremely pleased; the girls I put out on the court communicated well. When it came back over, when had a pass-set-hit most of the time," Hahn said of the eighth grade squad. "I think they had good chemistry, and I was proud of their intensity. Our serves were on, they were talking on the floor."

"We finally got Julia Hahn hitting the ball hard - she had some awesome hits and I was proud of that," she continued. "Ashlyn Werneck had great serves all night, and she had a couple great hits as well."

Despite the lopsided score, Hahn was quick to give the Lady Mules credit for their skill.

"I've got to give Bernie credit; the score was not reflective of how that game was. There were some rallies that we wound up on top of that really helped us," Hahn said. "Bernie brought a great team over, they had some awesome servers and good hitters. We have to stay fired up; next week we have the Bernie Tournament, and we'll see them there and again in the County Tournament."

The Lady 'Cats will be back in action on Thursday night, when they hit the road to take on Advance. The seventh grade squad is scheduled to get things underway at 6:00 p.m.