Vandals Improve to 21-4 After Wins over Battle Mountain, Oasis

After losing to Virginia City in volleyball, Eureka bounced back with wins in two matches last week, one on the road and one at home.

They won at Battle Mountain 3-2 Oct. 2, then won a non-league match with Oasis Academy of Fallon, 3-0 on Oct. 6.

Coach Katie Benson said the scores with Oasis were 25-12, 25-13, 25-11. Alia Minoletti had eight kills in that match.

The Bighorns (6-19, 1-8) are members of the new 1A Central League with Tonopah and Round Mountain.

“We did OK, not our greatest. We did have eight service errors and eight attack errors and that’s alright, but we do want to minimize those even more,” Benson said. “It’s getting late in the season where we are admittedly a bit tired, so it’s nice to have a bit of a lower-key game before we head into the final three games of the regular season.”

The final three games have Eureka (21-4, 5-0) at Jackpot and Wells this Friday and Saturday and finishing up at Owyhee Oct. 20.

The Vandals have wins over all three of the teams in their earlier meetings, 3-0 over both Jackpot and Wells and two wins over Owyhee, one of which came in the Battle Mountain tournament in early September.

“We naturally have to pay attention to these league games and keep our focus moving forward to be able to secure the top spot in the league playoffs,” Benson said.

Eureka will have home court advantage as they host the Northern divisional playoffs will be Nov. 2-3.

She said, “It will be nice for our girls to not have to travel and be away from home during the regional tournament, to stay home and sleep in their own beds.”

The top two from the regional tournament will advance to the state tournament Nov. 9-10 in Reno, beginning with the semifinals at Reed High School but switching for the finals to another site yet to be determined.