Fairview's Phoenix Janusas looks over to the bench between points on Thursday at Cullman.

Michelle Greenlee saw plenty of good from her Cullman volleyball team during Thursday’s home tri-match against Class 5A Fairview and Hayden.

The Bearcats made “a lot of great passes,” set the ball “well” and had a few hitters who “aren’t afraid to hit” deliver some thunderous smacks in their season-opening triumphs.

Cullman defeated the Aggies 25-23, 17-25, 15-11 in a back-and-forth tilt before downing the Wildcats in similar fashion 25-16, 19-25, 15-5 to start the young campaign at 2-0.

Greenlee won’t complain about that.

“We had a lot of jitters during the first game, but we worked through it and were able to beat a good Fairview team,” she said. “We had a whole lot of energy out there all day. Once we got over our initial hump, I think you started to see what we’ve been working on in practice shine through.”

Over the course of two matches, Anna Evans nabbed nine kills and five aces for the Bearcats. Other contributors were Tiffani Schwaiger, six aces and three kills; Taiya Ponder, four kills and one ace; Tallison Wilson, six kills; Anna Laidley, five kills; and Madison Cobbs, five aces.

What pleased the head coach most, however, didn’t lie in the stat book.

No amount of aces, kills, assists or celebrations could top how the ’Cats fought through adversity not once, but twice to earn solid wins over good competition.

“It’s a totally different team,” Greenlee said. “Once we get down, we’ve learned how to pull off wins. I couldn’t be more proud. We’ve really got a next-ball mentality. I think I speak for all us of when I say we’re trying to get to the state tournament. We’ve worked hard all summer. Maybe this’ll be the first of many wins this season.”

Although Fairview dropped its first game, it rebounded with a 25-13, 25-18 victory over Hayden to end its night on a good note.

Carli Jo Ashley, Dalys Mullican, Kayla Aleman, Abbi Taylor and Alivia Boyll combined for 20 kills in the two-set waxing. Stats during the match with Cullman were unavailable.

“I was most impressed with how well we communicated,” Aggie coach Tracy Means said. “We’ve got some pretty young setters, so it was really nice to see. I was proud of how we were able to bounce back, too. We’ll just keep trying to get better.”

Cullman’s junior varsity team picked up victories over both visitors. Fairview topped Hayden to finish 1-1 on the afternoon.

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Tiebreaker

Addison’s varsity girls did their best to give Kayla Woodard her first head coaching gray hairs Thursday at home, squeaking out a three-set comeback against Hartselle in the 26-year-old’s debut atop the Bulldogs.

Addison dropped the first set 17-25 before rebounding with 29-27 and 15-11 decisions to seize the battle of highly ranked opponents. The Dawgs entered the season second in 2A, one spot better than Hartselle in 6A.

Addison swept Curry 25-18, 25-14 to round out the evening.

In other opening day action, West Point defeated county-rival Vinemont in straight sets (25-16, 25-23) on the road.