It was a very upbeat Pinecrest volleyball team that took the floor for practice the day after Tuesday's key road win at Jack Britt.

Strong performances by the girls up front, and all around, led the Patriots to a 25-14, 23-25, 25-21 and 25-18 victory that keeps them one game behind Scotland County in the Mid-Southeastern Conference race.

"The team played extremely well last night," Patriot coach Barbara Foxx said. "If you didn't have to coach and yell, it would have been a fun game to just sit back and be a cheerleader. We're just having a good time right now."

The Patriots improved to 4-1 in the conference and 8-3 overall. The Scots are 5-0 and 11-0 after also picking up another win. The Pats have three more league games before meeting the front runners in Laurinburg on Sept. 30.

Foxx said that her team began the Jack Britt match with high energy and kept it at that level throughout.

"We had a super night with our net play, as far as blocking, and we dug a lot of balls we don't normally get to," the coach said. "Our passes are getting better, and that means our attack is going to be stronger. Jack Britt hustled and went after everything as we expected, and we did the same thing."

Tatiana Suvorova led the attack with 20 kills and was backed up by Ashley Sweeting with 11, Addy George with six and Kaitlyn Craven with five. Craven also had seven blocks and Sweeting added five.

Setter Morgan Ridge was credited with 33 assists, 12 digs and nine service points. Also helping keep the ball alive on the Patriot side of the court were Suvorova with 15 digs and Sweeting, Karmen Spencer and Kelly Lovely with seven apiece. Emily Despain and Suvorova also served for nine points each.

The loss was the second for Jack Britt in conference play. Pinecrest was scheduled to entertain Westover on Thursday.

The Patriot jayvee team also beat the Buccaneers, improving to 4-1 in the conference and 9-1 overall.