Box Score Southwest entered Monday's conference home opener against Northeast hoping to carry over the momentum built from Saturday's win against Bevill St. But the Bears were unable to close the deal in the end falling 23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 23-25, 8-15.
 
"I'm disappointed in our overall lack of sense of urgency," Southwest head coach Chris Laird said. "We talk about finishing the job every day at practice and this was a great opportunity to get a conference win."
 
The Bears (1-8, 0-2) jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first set but lost focus as the Tigers went on a run eventually putting the hosts down 13-4.
 
But Southwest showed great resilience and battled back. Down 20-13, the Bears went on an 8-0 run highlighted by an ace and a kill from Reagan Robinson and a kill from Berta Soules to race ahead 21-20. In the end the Bears unfortunately couldn't keep it going, dropping the first frame.
 
In the second, the Bears got off to a strong start taking an 8-2 advantage. The hits kept coming from Southwest as the lead blossomed to as many as 11 at 24-13 before Abby Greenlee finished off the set with a kill.
 
"I was very proud of Abby for leading the team and in kills," Laird said. "Our setters did a good job of getting the ball to the middles."
 
In an act of déjà vu, Southwest once again got off to a very positive start in the third taking a 17-10 lead following a 5-0 run. A strong finish to the set was highlighted by three kills from Haley Eckert as Southwest took a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team leading by more than three. The Bears showed fight in the end but came up just short as the visitors from Booneville claimed the fourth set forcing a fifth.
 
A slow start hurt the Bears as they had difficulty regrouping for one final push. They watched the Tigers take a 5-0 lead and even though Southwest narrowed the gap to three at 8-5, it could not find the same magic it had before as Northeast took the set and the match.
 
Southwest heads to Decatur on Wednesday at 5 p.m. for a conference match against East Central.