Eureka Girls Begin Play Next Weekend

Volleyball has not gone well for Eureka over the past 10 years, so there is always hope for better things ahead.

The best year was 2011 when the girls finished 19-9, placed second in the 1A North (east), but lost 3-0 to Sierra Lutheran in the first round of the Northern League playoffs. In 2013, they came back with an 11-9 season.

Last year the Lady Vandals were 6-7, qualified for the Northern league tournament, beat Smith Valley in the first round, but then lost to Owyhee in the semi-finals.

This season, Coach Kathryn Benson has the first games slated for a pre-season tournament Aug. 25-26 at White Pine in Ely, followed by a match Aug. 31 at Round Mountain. On the first weekend of September, the Lady Vandals play in the Battle Mountain Invitational.

Looking at the league schedule for the Vandals, Owyhee and Wells were the top teams in the North-east last year. Over the past several years, since 2007, the Vandals are 3-6 against the Braves but are even at 3-3 in matches with them in the past five years.

Not so good against Wells though. The Leopards own a 9-3 record over Eureka since 2007 and have won the last five matches.

Eureka plays Owyhee home-and-home in league action, at Owyhee Sept. 30 and in Eureka Oct. 20. They play host to Wells Oct. 8.

The girls don’t play 2A White Pine this season. The Bobcats have the edge though, having won 10 out of 11 matches since 2010.

McDermitt is the league team the Lady Vandals have had good success against in recent times. The Bulldogs lead the series 7-9, but Eureka has won the last four matches. The teams play in Eureka Oct. 6.

The team the Lady Vandals have had the most success with is Jackpot. They have won five out of six since 2007 but lost 3-0 last year in Jackpot. This year the match is in Eureka Oct. 13.