Hannah Edelman is used to seeing her Hilton Head Island High School volleyball team come out of the gate slowly.

She's also used to seeing the Seahawks cruise once they get their feet underneath them.

"We usually start off like that," the freshman said, "but we warm it up and bring it back as a team. We always jell together."

A new season brought back similar results for Hilton Head High on Tuesday night, as the Seahawks fought through a nip-and-tuck opening set against Beaufort High before sweeping the Eagles with relative ease, 28-26, 25-15, 25-11.

"I guess we were all nervous," sophomore Sierra Davis said. "It's our first home game, we're trying to impress the people that came. The second game, we definitely picked it up."

The two underclassmen helped lead the way for Hilton Head High (1-0), as Davis and Edelman collected six and five kills, respectively, while sophomore Brantley Herrington added seven of her own. Junior Renee Homad added 28 assists.

"We've got big hitters and we're communicating more," coach Garret Talarczyk said. "We should be pretty solid. As long as we keep working on what we're working on, serve, receive, communicate on the floor, we should be all right."

Beaufort High started the season opener on all cylinders, as the Eagles (0-1) rallied from a six-point deficit midway through the first set to even things up at 25 apiece. Coach Corrie Frohnapfel then watched as her team took a brief one-point advantage before the Seahawks claimed the final three points to capture the first set.

Bailey Layne led Beaufort High with five kills, four aces and two blocks while Kaila Smith tallied eight digs and six kills. Ashley Tillery rounded out the Eagles' standouts with 10 digs.

"I'm not disappointed at all," Frohnapfel said. "We lost nine seniors last year. We only had four seniors this year that were on the varsity team last year. Pretty good playing with Hilton Head 28-26.

"(The first set) could have gone either way, which makes me feel good about the rest of the season."

Things went downhill from there, though, as the host Seahawks broke an 11-all second set by scoring eight of the next nine points before earning the 25-15 decision. The final set was a mere formality, as Hilton Head High jumped out to a 12-3 advantage before cruising to the victory.

"I think we're going to do really well this season," Edelman said. " ... (Our goal is) to get to states. We've always wanted it. We've worked really hard.

"We've got strong hitters, strong passers and a setter. We have a solid team."

Both teams return to the court Thursday, as Beaufort High hosts Whale Branch while Hilton Head High travels to Savannah Country Day. Both matches are slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.