Bulldogs sweep Panthers in three sets during regular season finale

October 25, 2024 PVNPublisher 0

PCHS freshman Peyton Bradley sets up a teammate during the Oct. 24 regular season finale against Luray.

Monday’s Bull Run District quarterfinals sends Luray traveling to Rappahannock, and Page County heading to Central of Woodstock

By Randy Arrington

SHENANDOAH, Oct. 24 — The Page County Panthers donned black uniforms with pink numbers and honored special guests prior to Thursday night’s rivalry game with Luray to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Members of the Panthers’ volleyball team handed out flowers to various guests battling breast cancer, and Principal David Cale read the stories of several local cancer survivors, as well as a few stories about those who have succumbed to the disease.

On the court, the Bull Run District volleyball matchup between the two county rivals ended the same as their first meeting on Sept. 26, with the Bulldogs sweeping the Panthers in three sets in similar fashion — 25-15, 25-18 and 25-17.

Luray was lead by freshman Caroline Donovan with six kills and five aces. Senior Katelyn Taglauer recorded four kills and two aces, while junior Reese Fitton also had four kills. Freshman Emily Benson added three kills.

Junior Addyson Wyant lead the Panthers with five kills and two aces. Sophomore Ava Marshall contributed two kills and a key block, while sophomore Rylan Martin added two kills as well.

All three sets on Thursday night started out close, but Luray managed to gain a 16-5 advantage in the first en route to a 25-15 win. Page County held a 13-7 advantage in the second set, but allowed Luray to rattle off six-straight points and tie the set at 13-13. It would be tied only once more as the Bulldogs built up a 21-16 advantage en route to a 25-18 win. In the final set, each team built leads early and allowed the other team to come back. However, Luray built a 10-9 advantage into a 20-13 lead and won the final set, 25-17, to claim the match.

Following Thursday night’s regular season finale, both teams will now advance to the Bull Run District Tournament, which gets underway on Monday, Oct. 28 with the quarterfinal rounds.

Luray (10-10) drew the fifth seed and will travel to No. 4 Rappahannock (11-12). The Panthers of Rapp will be coming off a regular-season-ending loss, 3-1, at home against Madison County. Rapp closed out the season winning three of their last five, while Luray won three of their last four.

Page County (2-18) fell into the seventh seed and will be traveling to No. 2 Central (15-4). The Falcons went 10-2 in the Bull Run this season, and will be coming off a dominating win over Strasburg on Thursday. Page’s only two wins of the season came against the Rams.

2024 Bull Run District Volleyball Tournament ~ Quarterfinals

Monday, Oct. 28 at 7:15 p.m.