Mavs muscle their way past VB

But just in case, her team gave her reason for Wednesday morning fodder following a 25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 25-17 victory at Southside Gym. The former Southside standout, who had a hand in two of former coach Steve Haaser’s eight state titles as a fierce hitter in 2003-04, began her reign as the team’s head coach Tuesday night. She’s just the third coach in the program’s 44-year history. “I think our defense kind of got into our own heads a little,” Throneberry said after the Pointers forced a fourth set. “Van Buren’s a very good hitting team, but we had a whole lot of hitting mistakes that put us in a hole, and it was hard to adjust. Their middles have good size, and that’s good for us to see. “That will give us something to work on tomorrow.” Southside senior Bailey Vega led the winners with a career-high 13 kills. Toree Tiffee and Aleigha Johnson finished with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Johnson also had four aces. The Pointers’ Grace Doolittle led all players with 14 kills. Her twin sister, Madelyn, added nine kills. The Pointers were with the Mavericks step for step in the first set before succumbing late, 25-16. The game was actually tied at 16 before the Mavs closed it out with a 9-0 push. “Southside knows how to finish; that’s what we have to keep working on,” Van Buren coach Brent Reeves said. “I felt like we were off a little bit with our passes — we were off just enough for them to throw us off.” Van Buren, which travels to Alma on Thursday, took a commanding 15-8 lead in the third game before the Mavs flipped the script. Southside took a 21-19 lead on Hannah Hogue’s no-look tip. But Van Buren got off the deck and rallied to force a fourth game. “We weren’t surprised,” Hogue said of the Pointers’ effort. “After last year, and almost losing to them at state, we knew they were going to come at us pretty hard. I think Van Buren played really well in that third set; they put a lot of pressure on us. We just had some miscommunications; some things we’ll work on tomorrow.” Southside’s Kelsey Hamilton led the team with digs. Hogue finished with 32 assists, and Hayley Hall added four aces. The Mavericks travel to Fayetteville on Thursday.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

MAVS MUSCLE THEIR WAY PAST VB

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 8/28/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford