Lady Vandals Win Pair in Advance of Regional Tourney

Eureka played three matches last week, winning two, losing one.

Oct. 19, they had a non-league match with 2A Battle Mountain and beat the Longhorns 3-0 by scores of 25-7, 25-21, 25-18.

On Oct. 20, the Lady Vandals beat Owyhee in a see-saw match 25-17, 12-25, 25-15, 15-7.

Eureka coach Katie Benson said, “It was our senior night and we were pretty excited to play them, as they are first place in the 1A North-east, and to beat them would put us in a tie for first place.” However, according to NIAA rules, Owyhee will most likely win the tiebreaker and be seeded No. 1 into the regional playoffs.

“The girls played really well,” said Benson, “especially since this was a five-set match, something we rarely play.”

In the final set with the Braves, Benson said, “We had a good lead because three of the girls scored three points each, back to back, Alia Minoletti, Coby Gibbs, and Kalie Norris. Owyhee never got a run on us in that final set, maybe a point or two then would side out. In a 15-point game, to have three girls score nine points is pretty good.”

Good defense was also a key to the win for the Vandals. Benson said, “When you play Owyhee, the vollies can be really long, so we had to keep attacking the ball and play well as a unit.”

Saturday was a non-league regular season ender at Tonopah, which the girls lost 3-1, although the scores were close 25-18, 23-25, 18-25, 18-25. “It was a tiring weekend,” Benson said, “and playing a five-set match the day before, it’s quite exhausting, mentally and emotionally as well as physically, and we were not playing at our best that day.” It gave Tonopah a split with Eureka on the season, as the Vandals had taken a 3-1 win on Sept. 9.

The Muckers (18-6-1) are in second place behind defending state champion Pahranagat Valley in the 1A Southern League.

On Tuesday this week, Eureka (13-7, 9-1) played a match at winless Round Mountain. Benson said several of the players would not be involved in that match, taking part instead in an FFA convention.

The 1A Northern regional tournament will be will be Nov. 3-4 at Wooster High in Reno. The state tournament for all classes is at Faith Lutheran High in Las Vegas Nov.10-11.