Van Buren Overpowers Oakdale in Volleyball 3-0
By Terry Futrell
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times – for the Van Buren County volleyball team. In their match against the Oakdale Lady Eagles, their first since coming off 14 days of quarantine due to the pandemic, the Van Buren Lady Eaglettes at times demonstrated why they are the only undefeated team in District 3A. Scoring 32 consecutive points across three sets and winning a set over Oakdale 25-0 were phenomenal accomplishments. But the Lady Eaglettes also showed how 14 days without practice can foster uncharacteristic errors, such as committing 11 service errors in three sets. To the credit of the Oakdale Lady Eagles, they never stopped fighting and gave the taller Van Buren team a run for their money in the third and final set. The Lady Eagles effort fell short and they lost the match in three sets (25-13, 25-0, 25-21).
In the first set, Oakdale overcame an early Van Buren lead and went ahead 8-6 behind the serving of Hunter Bailey. Van Buren stook the lead at 9-8 and slowly crept ahead to close out the set 25-13. Van Buren’s Greta Rigsby was credited with 10 kills in the set.
As the second set began, Oakdale lost a point on the first serve. Then the Van Buren magic took over as Emma Scoggins served 24 consecutive points to give the Lady Eaglettes a 25-0 victory in the set and a 2-0 lead in the match. Scoggins served six aces in the set.
Scoggins began serving for Van Buren in the third set and extended her streak to 27 consecutive serves across the two sets, giving Van Buren a 3-0 lead. Two of Scoggins three opening serves in the third set were aces. Oakdale’s Amelia Clark then served four points, including an ace, to give the Lady Eagles a 5-3 lead over Van Buren. The teams fought back and forth, with the score tied five times before Van Buren crept ahead at 14-13 and eked out a 25-21 victory in the set and a 3-0 match victory. Van Buren’s Greta Rigsby terrorized the Lady Eagles again in the third set, scoring six kills.
It is evident from the match with Oakdale that Van Buren is capable of playing near perfect volleyball, but the rust accumulated over 14 days without practice may prove to be the Lady Eaglettes downfall – they face a tough swarm of Yellow Jackets at Coalfield next Monday evening in what could be one of the best matches of the 2020 season. The very young Oakdale Lady Eagles team continues to show improvement, as demonstrated by their performance in the third set against Van Buren. While it may not be evident from the record books, the future looks much brighter for Lady Eagle volleyball.