Wartburg Volleyballers Fall to Bledsoe County 3-0

By Terry Futrell

The Bledsoe County Lady Warriors remain undefeated in District 3A volleyball after taking a 3-0 victory (25-12, 25-12, 25-22) over the Wartburg Central High Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday at Wartburg. The Lady Warriors overcame a 10-point deficit in the third set to win the set and clinch the shutout.

Bledsoe County used their height advantage and strong serving to defeat Wartburg. The taller Bledsoe team attacked the net much more frequently than Wartburg, recording 22 attacks while Wartburg had only nine. The Lady Warriors chalked up 14 service aces in the three sets, compared to only four aces for the Lady Bulldogs. The 19 setup errors committed by Wartburg were a good indicator of the power of the Lady Warriors serves and spikes. In contrast, Bledsoe County made only eight setup errors.

The Lady Bulldogs played competitively with the Lady Warriors to open the first set, taking an early 7-6 lead. With the score tied 7-7, Bledsoe’s Maddie Dodson served seven consecutive points, including one service ace, to take the lead 14-7. Wartburg continued to fight, aided by a service ace by Emory Hamby. After taking a 19-10, lead, Lady Warrior Dannah Angel served three consecutive aces to give Bledsoe an insurmountable 22-10 lead. The Lady Warriors closed out the set, winning 25-12.

With Wartburg leading 2-1 in the second set, Emmajean Berquist served five consecutive points, including two aces to give the Lady Warriors a 6-2 lead. Dannah Angel soon followed by serving four points, including an ace. Gracie Dodson padded Bledsoe’s lead to 19-6 by serving four points. Wartburg continued to fight as Sydney Aytes served an ace, followed by two additional points to close the gap to 20-9. The two teams then traded points until Bledsoe closed out the set with a 25-12 victory.

Wartburg came roaring back in the third set, taking an 8-1 lead as Macy Smith served seven consecutive points, including an ace. Lady Bulldog Hannah Moore soon followed by serving five consecutive points, including one ace, to pad the Wartburg lead to 13-4. With the Lady Bulldogs leading 16-6, Bledsoe began their comeback, finally tying the set at 20-20. The set was tied twice more at 21-21 and 22-22 before the Lady Warriors pulled away for a 25-22 victory in the set and a 3-0 match win.

Bledsoe Wins JV Match 2-0

Bledsoe County used blistering serves in the preliminary junior varsity match to easily put away the Lady Bulldogs 2-0 (25-7, 25-10). The Lady Warriors racked up 17 service aces, compared to only four aces for Wartburg. Wartburg had much difficulty handling the power of the Bledsoe serves, committing 15 setup errors. In contrast, Bledsoe had only four setup errors. Highlight of the JV match was four consecutive service aces served by Bledsoe’s Abby Stone.