The Isabella Mustangs volleyball team bounced back from its first loss of the season to Shelby County by sweeping the Thorsby Rebels in three games (25-11, 25-13, 25-22) on Thursday.

The Mustangs charged out of the gate, scoring the first seven points of the match behind the serving of senior Hailey Underwood, which forced an early timeout by Thorsby head coach Leighsa Robinson.

“I think that loss will be a positive for us to remain focus,” Underwood said. “We can’t take winning for granted.”

Kerri Robinson eventually scored Thorsby’s first point of the game and ended a 9-1 scoring run for Isabella.

However, the damage was already done and the Mustangs cruised to a 25-11 victory in game one.

“We had a very intense practice [after the loss] and I challenged them to compete for every ball,” Isabella head coach Glen Graham said. “For the most we did that tonight, and I was very proud of the effort.”

The Rebels began to settle into the contest in the early part of game two, trailing 8-7 at the first timeout.

Thorsby’s Erica Hilyer tied the game at 11-all with a thunderous kill, but Isabella quickly grew the lead once again by outscoring the Rebels 14-2 down the stretch in game two.

“We always seem to play better when we have fun out there on the court,” Graham said. “We’ll be a tough out if we play like that every night.”

Game three was the closest contest of the evening, as both teams traded scoring runs.

“No matter how many sets or points you are down, you’ve got to fight as hard as you can,” Thorsby head coach Leighsa Robinson said. “That’s what they showed tonight.”

Robinson hit past a block attempt by Isabella’s Kinley Tuttle to cut the Mustangs lead to 22-21.

That was the closest that Rebels would get to victory, as Isabella finished strong and won 25-22.

“We’re a 2A school playing a 5A schedule,” Robinson said. “It’s not about where you start, it’s all about where you finish. We’re preparing ourselves for October and we’re going to take some lumps.”

Underwood helped lead the way for the Mustangs from the opening serve and finished the game with team-highs of 14 aces and 12 assists to accompany 5 kills.

“She’s been around for a long time and is one of our leaders,” Graham said.