Van Buren County Defeats Wartburg to take District Lead

By Terry Futrell – September 11, 2018

After a quick move of the competition from Wartburg Central High School to Coalfield because of unforeseen circumstances arising, Van Buren County wasted no time in re-establishing themselves as the team to beat in District 3A volleyball. The Lady Eagles took both matches in the double-header from the Wartburg Lady Bulldogs 3-0, 3-0.

The Wartburg Lady Bulldogs had been the only undefeated team in District 3A since Coalfield defeated Van Buren County on August 30. It was a defeat that Eagles Coach Sarah Hickerson felt should not have happened, and her Van Buren team came to Wartburg determined to retake the top spot in District 3. The two victories gave Van Buren a district record of 8-1, while Wartburg falls to second place in the district with a 6-2 record.

The Lady Bulldogs had great difficulty in handling the Lady Eagles’ driving, low serve that barely cleared the net. As a result, Van Buren scored eight service aces in each of the two matches against Wartburg. The Lady Bulldogs also committed several setup errors directly related to the Van Buren serves.

Van Buren took the first match by winning all three sets 25-11, 25-15, and 25-10. The Lady Bulldogs attacked more than Van Buren in the first match, but committed far more attack errors than Van Buren, negating the Lady Bulldogs aggressive play. The Lady Bulldogs also committed 33 setup errors in the match, largely because of the hard, driving nature of the Lady Eagles’ attacks. Van Buren’s Gracie Austin served up 20 points, including five aces, in the match. Van Buren’s Emma Scoggins served 10 consecutive points in set 3, including three aces.

The second match of the double-header was essentially a mirror image of the first, except for the third and final set in which the Lady Bulldogs settled down and led Van Buren most of the set. Van Buren took sets 1 and 2 outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 25-9 and 25-15. Wartburg moved out to an early lead in set 3 and fought off every comeback attempt by the Lady Eagles until the Lady Bulldogs led 18-16. At that point, Van Buren’s Chloe Hillis stepped up and served eight consecutive points, including three aces, giving Van Buren the lead 24-18. Van Buren closed out the set 25-19, ending any hopes the Lady Bulldogs had for regaining the lead.

The Van Buren Lady Eagles will return to Coalfield on September 25 to play the Coalfield Lady Jackets. Van Buren will most assuredly be seeking to avenge their earlier loss to the Lady Jackets.

Wartburg next plays Clarkrange before coming back to play the Coalfield Lady Jackets in a tough matchup on September 18.