By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Oct. 23 — For the second time in five days, the Luray Bulldogs defeated the Panthers of Page County in three-straight sets of volleyball on their home court. Monday night’s win in the quarterfinal round of the Bull Run District tournament, now advances Luray to the semifinals at Clarke at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night in Berryville. The winner of that game advances to Thursday’s district championship.
On Monday night, Luray was lead by senior Summer Forder with eight kills and an ace. Sophomore Reese Fitton recorded seven kills and an ace, while senior Gracie Embry contributed five kills. Junior Kate Taglauer served up four aces and got one kill, while junior Avery Jewell had three kills and two aces.
For Page County, senior Adryn Martin lead the way with three kills. Senior Faith Mason and freshman Adi Caton posted two kills each. Overall, the Panthers spread out their scoring among seven players.
Luray dominated the first two sets of Monday’s quarterfinal matchup. The Bulldogs closed out the first set on a 10-0 run to win 25-12. In the second set, Luray jumped out to a 9-2 lead early and then closed strong for a 25-14 win.
The third and final set was the closest of the night. After an early 5-1 lead by Page, the two county rivals had knotted the score four times when they reached 11-11. The Bulldogs then went on a 7-1 run that opened up an 18-12 lead. Page then posted its own 6-2 run and got within two at 20-18. Luray did not give up the lead and closed out the third set 25-20 — taking the match 3-0.
With the loss, Page County (7-15) now waits to see if they will make the cut for the Region 2B tournament next week. With additional teams in the regional mix from the Shenandoah District this year, it will be tougher for Bull Run teams to advance than in recent years — when nearly every team in the Bull Run would almost automatically advance to the region tournament.
In addition to the seven teams in the Bull Run (East Rock moved up to Class 3 and Rapp plays down at Class 1), the Region 2B tournament selections this year will include consideration for Riverheads (who moved up from Class 1), Fort Defiance and Stuarts Draft from the Shenandoah District, and Buckingham County from the James River District.
In Tuesday’s district semifinal, Luray (14-7) will face a Clarke team with the same identical overall record of 14-7. The Eagles, however, are two games better than the Bulldogs in the Bull Run. Clarke has a district record of 12-3, compared to Luray’s 10-5.
Second-seeded Clarke advances to the district semifinal after sweeping seventh-seeded Strasburg 3-0 in Monday’s quarterfinal. The other semifinal features top-seeded Central (19-1) hosting the winner of the Madison/Rapp quarterfinal matchup.
For full schedules, rosters and standings — check out the Bull Run District website.
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