The Albemarle Bulldogs volleyball team kept the sets close Tuesday night at home against the North Moore Mustangs, eventually suffering a Yadkin Valley Conference loss in straight sets.

Scores of the match were 25-21, 25-19 and 25-18 in favor of the Mustangs (7-8, 4-5 YVC).

Ayanna Ridenhour and Karlee Efird each had three kills to lead the Bulldogs. Efird also had four aces for Albemarle while Krystin McLendon and Armani Baldwin each had eight digs for the Bulldogs. McLendon also had five assists.

Albemarle (3-11, 2-8) led early in the first set, 4-2 and 7-5, but the Mustangs rallied with a 7-0 run to lead 18-13. The Bulldogs pulled into a 20-20 tie. A kill cross-court from Somajhe Parker pulled the Bulldogs within a point, 22-21, but North Moore scored the final three points of the set.

Trailing 5-2 in the second set, back-to-back kills from Ayanna Ridenhour pulled the Bulldogs to within a point. The Mustangs then went on a 9-0 run to lead 14-4. Albemarle answered with a 7-0 run to pull within three points, forcing the Mustangs to call timeout.

North Moore continued to maintain the lead for the rest of the second set. Back-to-back aces from Alexus McCrimmon gave the Mustangs the win in the set by six points.

The Bulldogs had early leads in the third set as the score was tied several times in the early points. Two aces from Chloe Brown put the Mustangs up 12-7. North Moore maintained a lead between four and six points the rest of the way. McCrimmon ended the game with a cross-court kill.