Van Lady Vandals Cruise to Sweeps of Arp, Quitman

ARP -- The Van Lady Vandals were strictly business, winning both of their volleyball matches Tuesday night, 25-11, 25-16, 25-19 over Arp and 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 against Quitman.

Arp defeated Quitman 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-14 in the night's final match.

Van improved to 9-1 on the young season with its two victories on Tuesday.

Senior Haley McCarty led the way for Van against Arp with 11 kills, two blocks and four aces.

"It's exciting to have a senior like Haley that you can count on," Van coach Kristen Reaves said. "She can serve, block, can hit and do whatever I need her to do."

Sophomore Briann Thompson added four kills and four blocks for Van in the first match.

"I think she's going to be another big threat along with Haley so I'll have two really good middles who can definitely play," Reaves said.

Arp (5-5) was led by Kayleigh Moore's three kills and seven digs. Taylor Burnett added three kills, five digs and two blocks, Lauren Littlefield provided two kills, three blocks and Sheyenne Atchley had 14 digs.

In Van's sweep of Quitman, McCarty produced nine kills and four aces, while junior Morgan Wilkerson chipped in with three aces and five kills.

Arp finished the night strong against Quitman, scoring a crucual, hard-fought win in the third game to take control of the match.

"We are playing hard, tough teams to get better," Arp coach Leigh Ann Roberts said. "We've scheduled 5A, 4A, 3A so we can get better for district."

Moore came up big in the final match with eight kills and two aces.

"Just a junior, (Moore) played with me last year on the varsity, mainly as a back-row hitter," Roberts said. "She worked on her arm swing and she's coming around this year. We had a big class of seniors last year with a lot of juniors on the junior varsity, so they're getting used to varsity volleyball. And they're getting there."

Quitman (6-3) head coach Sabrina Haggerty said she was missing a few key players for numerous reasons, so there were opportunities for newcomers to step up.

Senior Allison McKinley combined for 10 kills and 10 aces on the night for Quitman.

"We want to play big ball," Haggerty told her team after the final match. "We are coming in swinging. I've got a little bitty team so we've got to play big ball."

Van's season continues Friday and Saturday in the Eustace tournament. Arp competes at the Marshall tournament Thursday and Saturday, while Quitman plays host to Canton on Friday.