District 3A Volleyball Semifinal Results

By Terry Futrell

Once again, there were no surprises in the District 3A volleyball tournament as Van Buren County and Coalfield punched their tickets to the championship match to be played at 6:00 PM on Thursday, October 8, at Harriman High School. For the second year in a row, the two teams are competing for the district championship. Van Buren took the 2019 title by a score of 3-1. Van Buren also won the most recent encounter with Coalfield on September 21 by the same score in one of the best volleyball matches we have ever seen in this area. Van Buren defeated Coalfield in both previous matchups this season – will the third time be the charm for Coalfield? The winner of Thursday’s match will play Tellico Plains on Monday, October 12, at Meigs County in Region 2A competition. The District 3A runner-up will play District 4A winner Meigs County at Meigs County on the same date.

Van Buren County Defeats Bledsoe County 3-0

Undefeated top-seed Van Buren County easily put away 4^th-seed Bledsoe County 3-0 (25-10, 25-11, 25-12) in the first semifinal match Tuesday evening. The one-sided nature of the match is best illustrated by looking at the kills made by both teams. Van Buren viciously attacked Bledsoe and racked up 35 kills across the three sets. In stark contrast, Bledsoe was only able to score seven kills against Van Buren.

Van Buren was led by Riley Scoggins with 15 kills and Greta Rigsby with 12 kills. Emma Scoggins led off the second set for Van Buren by serving ten consecutive points to give Van Buren a 10-0 lead before Bledsoe could get on the board. Rigsby served six points in a row in the third set, including three aces.

Coalfield Downs Clarkrange 3-1

The 2nd-seed Coalfield Lady Jackets took four sets to put away 3rd-seed Clarkrange in the second semifinal match, giving Coalfield fans a few anxious moments along the way.

Coalfield took an 18-10 lead in the first set before Clarkrange began closing the gap. The Lady Jackets held on to win 25-22.

Coalfield pulled away from the beginning of the second set and led by 20-12 before Clarkrange mounted a comeback effort. IT was too little, too late as Coalfield took the set 25-17.

The Lady Jackets delivered a lackluster performance in the third set and never led Clarkrange. Coalfield trailed 20-12 but was able close the gap to 25-21 at the end.

Coalfield trailed Clarkrange early in the fourth set but took the lead at 10-9 and never looked back. Fans breathed a sigh of relief as the Lady Jackets closed out the set 25-19 and won the match 3-1.

Jayleigh Bunch and Alexis Morrison combined for 31 kills in the win over Clarkrange – Bunch had 16 kills and Morrison scored 15. Chloe Howard from Clarkrange led the Lady Buffaloes with 18 kills in the match.

Updated Tournament Bracket