Van Buren Overpowers Wartburg in District Semifinals

By Terry Futrell – October 2, 2018

Wartburg’s hopes for a district volleyball championship fell by the wayside tonight as the Lady Bulldogs were overpowered by the Van Buren Eaglettes 3-0 in the Class A, Region 2, District 3 tournament semifinals held at Clarkrange.

Van Buren proved once again why they are the District 3 regular season champions and the top seeded team in the tournament. The Eaglettes jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first set as Emma Scoggins served up three aces. The best Wartburg could do was close the gap to five points at 11-6 before the Eaglettes pulled away to win the first set 25-15. Van Buren showed tremendous strength in their serving, which included seven aces, their disciplined approach to setting up the ball, and the aggressive manner in which they attacked. The Eaglettes recorded 14 attacks to Wartburg’s four.

Wartburg jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the second set before Van Buren tied at 3-3. The Lady Bulldogs attacked more aggressively, chalking up 10 attacks to Van Buren’s nine. The aggressive play of the Lady Bulldogs was offset by committing 11 setup errors to Van Buren’s one. After the score was tied at 3-3, Van Buren went on a scoring rampage led by Gabby Young, who served 11 consecutive points for the Eaglettes. Van Buren cruised to a 25-6 victory.

Wartburg once again took an early 3-1 lead in the third set before Van Buren tied the score at 4-4 and began slowly pulling away. While Wartburg committed fewer errors, their defensive style of play was no match for Van Buren’s aggressiveness, characterized by 16 attacks in the set compared to Wartburg’s six attacks. Van Buren pulled away to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-0.

While the Lady Bulldogs season came to an end, their high level of performance throughout the regular season was highlighted by defeating every team in the district at least once except for Van Buren County and Bledsoe County. Wartburg achieved a 7-7 record against district opponents and earned fourth-seed in the district tournament.

Van Buren moves on to play Bledsoe County for the District 3 Championship on Thursday. The season has been a remarkable turn-around from 2017 when the Eaglettes finished in last place in the district. Van Buren lost only one district match during the regular season when they were upset by Coalfield. The Eaglettes disciplined play and excellence of technique has definitely raised the bar for other District 3 teams.