Dynamite comes in small packages.

Just ask Van Buren.

Southside’s Emily Bass, all 5-foot-6 of her, came up big in the fifth set Tuesday as the Mavericks rallied to stun Van Buren, 25-13, 18-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13, at Southside.

“That was a good win for us,” Southside coach Steve Haaser said. “I’m proud of the girls for finding a way. That was a great early season match.”

“I think this being the first game of the year we were a little bit tentative,” Van Buren coach Brent Reeves said. “I thought we came out not very aggressive; I thought we came out just to play.

“But when we play to win, we can play. We just have to get consistency through the whole match.”

The Mavericks breezed in the first set, fought their way to a 25-18 win in the third set for a 2-1 lead, and appeared to be on their way in the fourth game.

But the Pointers erased a 17-12 deficit with a 25-19 victory, and Van Buren jumped in front 3-0 in the fifth game.

Southside, which leads the overall series 78-9, charged ahead, 10-7, in the fifth game on a kill by Bass and Sage Rankin’s ace.

But the Pointers, sparked by Madalyn Dolittle’s kill, ran off four straight points for an 11-10 lead. Bass started Southside’s fifth game comeback with a kill and an ace.

“She’s a good solid player,” Haaser said. “She plays great back row defense, she serves well, and for her size she’s a good weapon on the front row with her hitting.”

“It’s really rewarding to win a game like that,” Bass said. “We all worked really hard and played really good together.”

Bass finished two aces shy of a triple-double, connecting for 11 kills, 11 digs and eight aces. Hannah Holland led the Mavericks with 15 kills.

Junior Alex Dupree had 17 kills for the Pointers. Teammate Bekah Olienyk added a dozen kills.

“I really thought they all got after it,” Reeves said. “Bekah helped get our momentum going and Alex really had a good game. I thought our libero, Caitlin (Perry), she did a nice job on the back row with some good passes and good digs. I thought we had some nice hustle plays from (Dupree). It was a great first game.”

Also for Southside, Carly Canada finished with eight kills and Hailey Hogue had 20 digs. The Mavs’ Sarah Tolbrert and Sage Rankin had two aces apiece.

Leading 11-5 in the first set, Bass had three kills and an ace as the lead swelled to 17-6. A late block by Holland and two kills by Rankin finished off the Pointers, 25-13.

Van Buren led 15-13 after Grace Dolittle’s kill in the second game. But a smash by Holland and two aces by Bass pushed the Mavericks’ lead to 16-15.

But the Pointers flipped the momentum by outscoring Southside 10-2 to even the match.

Southside erased an early 2-0 deficit in the third game and fought back for a 25-18 win. Canada’s kill put the Mavs ahead 17-12 in the fourth set before Van Buren came to life.

Dupree snapped a 19-19 tie with a kill that put the Pointers ahead for good, forcing a fifth set.
