Coalfield Loses Volleyball Heartbreaker to Van Buren
By Terry Futrell – September 25, 2018
“By a hair”, “by the skin of their teeth” – neither term adequately describes the closeness of the volleyball match between Coalfield and Van Buren County this evening at John Jackson Memorial Gymnasium. The Van Buren Lady Eagles came to Coalfield seeking to avenge their only Class A District 3 volleyball loss. The Lady Eagles were victorious over every district team except for Coalfield, who upset Van Buren 3-2 on August 30. Van Buren faced a Lady Jacket team this evening that appeared to be even better, having destroyed Wartburg 3-0 just a week ago. Would Van Buren turn the tables on the Lady Jackets? Yes, barely, by the skin of their teeth! The final tally of three sets to two in favor of Van Buren in no way communicates the closeness of the match that went to overtime in the tie-breaker fifth set.
Coalfield went on the attack early in the first set, yet Van Buren took the lead 3-0. The teams traded points until Coalfield tied the set at 7-7, then inched ahead to an 11-7 lead. Van Buren fought back, once again taking the lead at 15-14. Ashlyn Roberts began serving with the score tied at 15-15 and served up five points to give the Lady Jackets a 20-15 lead. Van Buren never seriously threatened after that and Coalfield took the first set by a score of 25-19. Van Buren uncharacteristically committed four service errors in the first set, half of their total for the five sets played in the match.
Van Buren came roaring back in the second set and never trailed the Lady Jackets, although Coalfield remained close. With only a 3-point lead at 18-15, Van Buren’s Gracie Austin stepped up and served seven consecutive points, leading Van Buren to a 25-15 victory.
Van Buren jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set before the Lady Jackets came alive and eventually closed the gap to three points at 16-13. The Lady Jackets fell behind by as much as seven points at 21-14, but fought back, eventually losing by 25-20.
Down two sets to one, Coalfield attacked fiercely in the fourth set, racking up 28 attacks in the set. The Lady Jackets jumped out to a 13-6 lead and then held off every Van Buren comeback attempt to win by a score of 25-20.
The match moved to a fifth, tie-breaker set that could more appropriately be called a “heart-breaker set”. The two teams swapped the lead seven times, with neither team being able to gain the required 2-point advantage at 15 points. The set was tied at 15-15, 16-16, and 17-17 before Van Buren finally “by the skin of their teeth” scored two consecutive points to win the set 19-17 and the match 3-2.
To say the air was filled with tension throughout the nail-biter would be a gross understatement. The teams were evenly matched, but it was the disciplined serving of the Lady Eagles that made the difference. Whereas Coalfield committed 21 service errors in the match, Van Buren committed only eight.
Yes, hearts were broken, but both teams should feel good about the level of athletic competition that they presented this evening to the enthusiastic, cheering fans. It was a match that will long be remembered by both teams and their fans.
Van Buren also won the Junior Varsity match 2-0 (25-17, 25-15).