Luray hosts Buffalo Gap at 6 p.m. on Saturday for region title
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Nov. 6 — The Luray volleyball team has played its way into the Region 1B championship on Saturday after defeating Riverheads, 3-0, in a region semifinal Thursday night. Fifth-seeded Buffalo Gap defeated No. 8 Surry, 3-0, to also earn a shot at the region title. The Bulldogs will host the Bison at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Both teams have also earned a ticket to the VHSL Class 1 state volleyball tournament, which begins with the quarterfinal round at local sites on Saturday, Nov. 15. In the first round, Region B will be matched against Region A (champion versus runner-up), while C plays D.
On Thursday night, Luray faced one of its best opponents of the season, and the Bulldogs answered with one of their best team efforts of the season. Sophomores Caroline Donovan and Lakin Vile lead the way for Luray. Donovan recorded a dozen kills, two aces and two big blocks; while Vile added 10 kills and three aces. Senior Reese Fitton had seven kills and an ace on the night, sophomore Emily Benson posted six kills, and both junior Chloe Gochenour and sophomore Sierra Forder served up four aces each.
The Bulldogs also got its best support of the season from the bleachers, as the crowd was electric during the back-and-forth first set. In the early going, the score was tied three times and there were three lead changes. With the score at 8-8, both teams battled hard for the next point — which seemed to take two minutes or more, as there were plenty of hard shots followed great digs, followed by great overall team play on both sides. Once Luray won that point, they seemed to break the Gladiators’ momentum and held the lead the rest of the way to a 25-21 win.
The second set shared a similar path with seven ties and three lead changes up to 11-11. At that point, the bulldogs scored five of the next six points. The home team then rode a 16-12 advantage to a 25-19 win.
Luray begn to show its dominance in the third and final set as they earned each point and made few mistakes. The Bulldogs earned 11 points through kills and served up five aces. Luray took the set, 25-14, to close out the match, 3-0.
The Gladiators got a strong performance from junior Meleah Shirley, who put up six kills and two aces. Sophomore Hannah Williams had three kills and an ace, while junior Molly Fitzgerald and sophomore Kyera Pannell both posted two kills.
Riverheads ends its season at 7-15 after winning four of their last eight matches, including a 3-2 win over sixth-seeded Altavista in Monday’s region quarterfinal.
No. 2 Luray (11-12) will now host the Region 1B championship at 6 p.m. on Saturday against the fifth-seeded Bison of Buffalo Gap. Prior to their two wins in the region tournament, the Bison (6-16) had only won one of its previous 14 matches. Gap defeated Riverheads, 3-1, at home on Sept. 11, but lost to the Gladiators, 3-0, on the road Oct. 14.
The winner of Saturday’s region title match will host the Region A runner-up at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 for the quarterfinal round of the VHSL Class 1 state volleyball tournament. The Region B runner-up will travel to the Region A champion on Nov. 15.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Luray advances to Region 1B semifinal after sweeping Rapp in first round
Bulldogs need four sets to get past Panthers, 3-1
Bulldogs look to rebound after tough week
Luray ranks high under new classification
Bulldogs pick up third-straight Bull Run win, 3-0, over Panthers
Be the first to comment