The Suwannee High volleyball team downed cross-county rival Branford 25-14, 25-14, 14-25, 25-11 Sept. 5 in Live Oak.

The Dogs improve to 2-4.

Cortney Benson led all scorers with 18 points. Jasmine Jefferson had 14, Dominique Reed, nine, Rebecca Roberts, eight, Brittany Barclay four, and Natalie Pecina, two.

The Dogs’ other win also came against Branford. The Dogs won 29-27, 26-24, 25-18 in the best-of-five match on Aug. 22. The Dogs’ four losses were to Mayo, Madison, Baker and Bradford.

“We’re not as strong this year as we have been,” said coach Cissy Witt.

Of last year’s starters on varsity, only Jefferson returned. “We have a lot of inexperienced players,” said Witt, “but we have a lot of talent.”

Jefferson had six aces, Benson, five, Reed and Roberts, four each, and Barclay, two. Barclay had five kills, Benson, Jefferson, Reed and Deana McMillian, three each, and Casey Owens, one.

The Dogs played at Middleburg on Sept. 7. See Friday’s Democrat for a full account of the match.