For the Washington and Southside volleyball teams, Monday’s season opener offered a blank slate, both coaches embracing a fresh start following disappointing conclusions to the previous season.

Looking to forget a tumultuous 0-16 campaign, the Seahawks had their fair share of first-game jitters in a 3-0 loss to the Pam Pack, but the team’s demeanor hardly resembled that of last season’s. Against a 2-A team that won 17 games a year ago, head coach Rosalyn Grimes welcomed the initial enthusiasm and the cohesion, but admitted the energy tapered off in the third game.

“There were a lot of small errors we made as far as coverage and defense wasn’t exactly where we needed it,” she said. “Serving was off tonight and not where it should be. Once we tweak those things, we’ll be ok … A lot of it was first-game jitters, but overall I’m really proud of what I saw.”

On the other side of the net, 10 months removed from a heartbreaking second-round loss to Bunn in the state tournament, Washington’s starting six was scattered with new faces, some who came off the bench in 2014, others who started on jayvee. Led by returning setters in Briley Waters and Sarah Lynch, the Pam Pack avoided an early-season upset, despite being down in each of the three games. For head coach Kelly Slade, improvement begins with communication.

“Overall I think we played really well, but we had a little trouble with communication tonight, which I think made some of the game look a little wavy,” she said. “We need to work on getting spurts of points and communication helps with that.”

In the first game, it was the visitors who opened up with the first wave of points, an Andrea Waters kill igniting a 4-1 lead, but a pair of Washington kills, a couple mishits and some poor serving quickly shifted the momentum back in the host’s favor.

Andrea Waters continued to lift her team up front with two more kills, while the Pam Pack’s young hitters fed off the near meticulous sets of Briley Waters and Sarah Lynch. Deep into the game, Washington maintained a consistent cushion, held off a late Southside push and pulled out a 25-19 win.

A team that would have folded last season did no such thing on Monday in Game 2. The Seahawks jumped out to a 4-1 lead, once again, and went shot for shot with the Pam Pack. Tied at 15, kills from Briley Waters and Moore gave their team a slight edge, but an ace from Dajea Reddick and another kill from Andrea Waters erased Washington’s lead.

Tied at 23, a kill from Caroline Mills and a mishit from a Southside setter ended the game, 25-23.

“We need to have a talk about setting the pace of the game,” Slade said. “We haven’t discussed that yet. It’s the first game of the season and we’ve been working on setting the rotation, making sure everyone is in the right place.

“I think they did a really good job in the rotation and being in their appropriate spots, but they need to work on being more aggressive and communicating more.”

Subbing in her bench in the third game, the Pam Pack was again staring at a deficit early, but managed to pull out to a comfortable lead after three-straight aces from Moore. Up 17-7, lackadaisical play allowed the Seahawks to chip away, narrowing the lead to four points. However, the Washington defense dug out multiple kill attempts and pulled out a 25-21 victory, locking up the opening match.

Moore, Mills and Charity Gardner led the Pam Pack with three kills apiece, while Lynch and Briley Waters combined for 10 assists. Andrea Waters led all hitters with five kills.

Washington travels to Riverside on Thursday, while Southside prepares for a rematch against Washington in Chocowinity on Monday.