Van Buren’s Dupree brings energy, excitement

If there was any way to bottle Alex Dupree’s enthusiasm and somehow sell it to the highest bidder, Van Buren volleyball coach Brent Reeves would have seized the moment two years ago. Van Buren’s hard-hitting outside hitter isn’t the least bit bashful about her feelings. “The very first game we played, we played Southside, and the first thing I ever told her was, ‘Man, I love the energy and fire you’ve got inside of you.’ I told her if we kept doing those things, she was going to have a good career ahead of her,” Reeves said. “She’s going to come at you.” Durpree remembers the conversation verbatim. “He (Reeves) said that I was very fiery and feisty, and that I have a lot of passion,” Dupree said. “I don’t like losing.” Dupree may not be as tall as some of the area’s top players, most of whom she played Fort Smith Junior Volleyball with. But she can swing it with the best of them. And the passion? “Sometimes we have warm the officials,” Dupree said with a grin. “I really get into it.” Dupree and her parents, Dr. Matthew Dupree and Dr. Ivelesse (Rodriguez) Dupree, settled in Fort Smith in 2008, just in time for Alex to start playing volleyball. Her mom played high school and college volleyball in her native Puerto Rico. It didn’t take long for the girl in the No. 2 jersey to find herself — first at Girls Inc. and then later at Fort Smith Junior Volleyball. “I have been playing volleyball since I was 8 years old; it’s a big part of my life,” Dupree said. “It’s different from most sports. In basketball, you can be up by 30 points and you can let up a little bit. But in volleyball, it’s always intense. Teams you think you can sweep, they can come back in that third set and make it a game. I think it’s (volleyball) amazing because there are so many things going on. “One tiny thing can turn around a whole game.” Dupree played for three seasons at Trinity Junior High, which in reality made her stronger. “It’s hard being the little private school and having to go against Chaffin and Ramsey,” she said. “It’s not that I’m used to losing, but with the competition, I’m used to being the underdog. Coming up here, being the underdog, that gives me the fire inside.” The way things are going, the Lady Pointers may not be in the underdog’s role for long. Van Buren opens the second half of 6A-West play Tuesday with a 5-2 conference mark. And, with four home matches on the schedule, the Pointers may push mighty Fayetteville and Har-Ber for conference supremacy. “I think being in the 7A-West conference, it’s been such a hard conference with Haley Warner and Ella May Powell, and all these Har-Ber girls, we’ve always kind of been in there but this is our chance to get up there and grab it,” Dupree said. “I think the playing field is a lot more even this year. I think people need to come out and watch us and understand, ‘We are Van Buren!’ “This conference really pushes us.” Perfect fit Late in the summer of 2016, as the Pointers were getting ready to start the season, Reeves was named the team’s coach. His knowledge of the game, the way he manages players, not to mention his winning record, was perfect storm for a young Alex Dupree. “He’s taught me so more off the court, too,” Dupree said. “He’s taught me a lot about volleyball, too, and how to be mentally tough. Any person that’s been on my team, they know that I put so much pressure on myself. He’s really helped me to now put as much pressure on myself. “I know people think that when you’ve been playing for awhile that you can’t be taught new things, and that’s so not true — my passing, my serving, my hitting ... my whole game has been raised up thanks to coach Reeves.” “She’s a hard worker, and I think if you told her she couldn’t do something, she’s going to do it,” Reeves said. “She’s got that fire inside of her.” FSJ Dupree’s Fort Smith Juniors team included some of the area’s top senior talent, including five of Southside’s top players. “I played with the Southside girls — Emily Bass, Sarah Tolbert, Hannah Holland, Jenna Mullins and Reagan Scifres,” Dupree said. “I played with Abby Cagle from Greenwood, Karoline Beeson of Union Christian, and Ryleigh Hardwick of Paris.” The FSJ team also included Dupree’s Van Buren teammate, setter Mikelle Porter. “We were really good,” Dupree said.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

VAN BUREN’S DUPREE BRINGS ENERGY, EXCITEMENT

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 9/23/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford