Prep Volleyball: VB wins opening round match

Van Buren 3, Northside 2 Van Buren's Alex Dupree split two defenders for a kill in the fifth and deciding set Tuesday as the Lady Pointers rallied for an improbable 17-25, 25-14, 25-20, 17-25, 15-12 victory in the first round of the 7A state tournament. Van Buren (14-14) will face Fayetteville today at 6 p.m. Dupree led Van Buren (14-14) with a game-high 14 kills and two aces. Hattie Morrison and Bekah Olienyk had 12 kills each for the winners. Senior Emma Kate Fitzgerald led Northside (15-14) with 12 kills. "I thought we started off really slow, and then toward the end we picked up a little momentum," Van Buren coach Brent Reeves said. "I saw a little spark in them, and then from then on they really fought hard. Northside fought hard, too." The Lady Bears built a 23-12 lead an coasted to a 25-17 win in the opener before Van Buren began to claw its way back. Northside contributed to the comeback with a number of hitting errors and net violations."Sometimes the team that makes the least mistakes win the game," Reeves said. Down 2-1, the Lady Bears forced a fifth set with a solid 25-17 victory in the fourth game. Northside then built a 7-3 lead in the fifth game when the Pointers had one more rally."We made a lot of unforced errors," Waack said. "Hitting the ball out of bounds, net violations ... you name it. We were either great or we were terrible; there was no in-between for us." Back-to-back kills by Olienyk closed the gap to 7-5, and another Olienyk kill tied the match at 9-9. Van Buren surged in front, 12-9, before Fitzgerald's kill made it 12-10. Then, up one, Dupree put it away with two kills for a 3-2 win. "Sometimes, when your backs are against the wall you play really hard," Reeves said. "I thought they fought really hard." For Northside, the 15-14 finish clinched the team's first winning season since 2011 (12-11).

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Van Buren High School Athletics

PREP VOLLEYBALL: VB WINS OPENING ROUND MATCH

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 10/26/2016