Lady Marlins put Liza Jackson away in two

The Destin Marlins took care of business on Wednesday sending the Liza Jackson Lions packing 25-13, 25-14 in middle school volleyball action.

With the victory, the Marlins' record moves to 5-3.

“They did what they needed to do today,” said Destin Coach Allison Gnuse.

However, “We’ve got some things we need to work on,” she added.

In the next couple of weeks the Marlins will get the chance to improve on their record as they take on some of those past opponents that beat them early on such as Davidson and Shoal River.

“We’re looking forward to playing them again,” Gnuse said. “Davidson was a tough loss.”

Destin takes on Davidson at home at 5 p.m. Oct. 10 and Shoal River at 5 p.m. Oct. 16.

As for this week's win over Liza Jackson, Destin was a little slow getting started.

In the first game, the two teams swapped points on missed shots and a few aces with Destin leading 6-5.

Liza Jackson lost a volley, then Destin took over with Jordyn Powell serving up four straight, including two for aces, and an 11-6 lead.

Liza Jackson picked up a point on a missed serve by the Marlins, and then Destin’s Gabi O’Brien got up for a block and a Marlin point.

The scoring went back and forth before Destin’s Arleigh Foster went to the line and served up nine straight for a 25-13 win.

In game two, Destin made a couple of runs to take a 22-5 lead. Foster served up five consecutive points with Powell dinking one in as well as Kathryn Ballard hammering one in. The second run was served up by Lindsey Bouck, who recorded three points, and then Sloane Porter served up three for a 16-3 advantage. Destin’s Lauren Sprenkle and Kyla Buechner each picked up a few points to go up 22-6.

Late in the game, Liza Jackson went on a scoring spree and picked up five straight.

Destin finally secured the win with a block from Foster and a shot from Ballard to finish off the 25-14 victory.

Up next for Destin is a 5 p.m. game Wednesday at Pryor Middle School. The junior varsity will play at 4 p.m.