Basketball Recap: Volunteer Skates Past Claiborne with Ease

You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Volunteer's strategy against Claiborne on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Volunteer Falcons blew the Claiborne Bulldogs out of the water with a 61-32 final score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Falcons had established a 23 point advantage.

Volunteer was led to victory by Courtney Bellamy and Elisabeth Byington. Bellamy posted 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals, while Byington almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards. That's the most points Byington has posted since back in November of 2024. Emilee Mailloux was another key player, putting up ten points and three steals.

Volunteer smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in four consecutive matchups.

Volunteer pushed their record up to 10-9 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.7 points per game. As for Claiborne, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-7.

Volunteer and Gate City will face off at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Volunteer has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Claiborne, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Hancock County at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.