Lady Jackets Hopes Dashed by Bledsoe County

By Terry Futrell – October 2, 2018

No. 3 seed Coalfield had their hopes for a district volleyball championship dashed when they fell to Bledsoe County 3-1 tonight in the Class A, Region 2, District 3 tournament semifinals held at Clarkrange.

Bledsoe County, the only team not beaten by the Lady Jackets during the regular season, proved once again to be an obstacle the Lady Jackets could not quite overcome. Coalfield came roaring out of the blocks in the first set as Skylor Jeffers served up an ace. The Lady Jackets never trailed and decimated the Bledsoe Warriorettes 25-12 before they could mount a counterattack.

In the second set, Bledsoe pulled out to a 10-3 lead over the Lady Jackets before Coalfield began to chip away at their lead, pulling within one point at 12-11. Bledsoe then pulled away to win the set 25-15. While both teams were essentially even in the number of attacks, Bledsoe racked up six service aces in the set compared to only one for Coalfield.

Coalfield fought back in the third set, holding a slim lead until the set was tied at 11-11. The lead then changed four times in the highly competitive set that was eventually won by Bledsoe 25-23.

Bledsoe turned up their attack in the fourth set and took a 7-1 lead before the Lady Jackets mounted a challenge, eventually tying the score at 10-10. Each team struggled to get an advantage and the lead changed two more times before Bledsoe finally pulled ahead at 20-19 and never trailed again, winning the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.

The much-improved Lady Jackets finished the regular season with a 9-5 record, which reflects a major step forward in development of the volleyball program at the school. Losing only four seniors, the prospects for next season appear bright for the Lady Jackets.

Bledsoe came close to repeating as the top seed in the district, but was defeated twice by Van Buren County. Bledsoe and Van Buren will do battle Thursday evening for the District 3 championship.