Eureka VB wins two of three; falls to league-leading Lund

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The Eureka County High School girls volleyball team played three matches in three days, dropping just one to the Lund Mustangs, on Saturday, Sept. 26. Lund remains unbeaten in the Eastern 1A at 6-0, while the Lady Vandals are third at 3-3.

“The team did great this weekend, even though we came up short against Lund again. I feel like we gave them a competitive game, and I’m super proud of how the girls played,” Eureka head coach Erin Vial said. “They stayed positive and were able to come back from being down in several instances through the weekend.”

Lund continued its dominance of league opponents, winning 3-0 for a fifth straight game. Eureka hung around in the first two sets, falling 25-20 and 25-21. The Lady Vandals dropped the third set 25-17.

Lund High School junior Kaylee Griffin led the Mustangs with 15 kills and a 41.7% kill rate. Classmate Madi Carter delivered all 31 assists, and Lund made just four serve return errors in 46 attempts.  

The Lady Vandals entered the game on a three-match win streak after winning at Round Mountain 3-1 on Friday, Sept. 25. Eureka gutted out a 28-26 first-set win before dropping the second 25-18. The Vandals bounced back to take the next two 25-20 and 25-19.

ECHS also dropped Wells in straight sets, 26-24, 25-21, 25-20, on Thursday, Sept. 24. Senior Brooke Watts and junior Reagan Mello each had seven kills to lead Eureka. Jazmine Martinez struck four aces and had 16 digs. She also had just one error in 25 attempts at returning serve. 

“The girls are playing smarter. They are learning how to make adjustments on defense on their own and are making smart plays at the net,” said Vial. “We have been able to cut way down on our ‘silly errors’ and are continuing to serve better and better.”

The Lady Mustangs look like the team to beat in the Eastern 1A. They play at the second-seeded Owyhee Braves (11-5, 4-1) at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2. Eureka hosts Carlin (1-10, 1-5) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1.