By Randy Arrington
SHENANDOAH, Oct. 20 — Luray’s Jaidyn McClung once again lead the Bulldogs to victory at the net in their volleyball regular season finale at rival Page County High School on Thursday. The senior recorded an astounding 17 kills on the night, including nine in the third and final set, to go along with three aces and two blocks. Last season’s Region B Player of the Year also accounted for seven of Luray’s first nine points in that third set, and five of their last eight points.
The Thursday night Bull Run District matchup featured pink uniforms for both sides in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. The Bulldogs took the district match in three straight sets — 25-17, 25-22, 25-10 — and now advance to the Bull Run tournament quarterfinals on Monday, where they will host Rappahannock.
Despite being winless in the district (0-16) and not advancing to the postseason, the Panthers (3-19) played with a lot of heart and enthusiasm on Thursday, especially in the first set where the score was tied five times. Page County was not intimidated on their home court and went on an 8-0 run after losing the first three points. Page then pushed the opening set to 13-13 before the Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run for the win, 25-17.
Luray had to squeak out the win in the second set as Page took the early lead 5-1. The Bulldogs soon answered with an 8-0 run and lead 15-8. The visitors were able to stay just ahead of the home team, but the Panthers pulled to within 24-22 just before Luray closed out the second set, 25-22.
The third set went much quicker as McClung took over the match and accounted for 12 of Luray’s total points in the 25-10 win. Throughout the three-set sweep, McClung got help from senior Claudia Cave with four kills, junior Summer Forder with three aces, and junior Gracie Embrey with five blocks and a kill. Senior Lindsay Blye added three blocks and a kill.
Page County got a strong performance from junior Destiny Wright, who posted two aces, two blocks and a kill. Freshman Addyson Wyant was impressive with three kills on the night. Juniors Adryn Martin and Adrianna Roudabush each had a kill, while junior Faith Mason recorded two aces.
With the win, Luray moves to 13-7 overall and in a three-way tie for fourth-place in the Bull Run District. Both Madison and Rappahannock also had identical 9-7 marks in the district, but Luray won the tie-breaker — despite splitting with both teams — and the right to host a district quarterfinal at 6 p.m. on Monday night against No. 5 Rappahannock (9-7, 13-7).
Sixth-seeded Madison (9-7, 11-9) will travel to No. 3 Clarke (11-5, 12-8), while the other two district quarterfinals feature No. 8 Strasburg (3-13, 3-17) at No. 1 East Rock (14-2, 17-6), and No. 7 Mt. View (5-11, 6-11) at No. 2 Central (12-4, 15-5).
The Bull Run District volleyball tournament will feature quarterfinals on Monday, semifinals on Tuesday and the championship on Thursday — all at the site of the higher seed. The Region B tournament will start the following week.
For full schedules, rosters and standings — check out the Bull Run District website.
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