CABOT - Junior outside hitter Alexa Hreha made 14 kills and came up with 16 digs in helping Conway earn a sweep of conference rival Mount St. Mary in Wednesday’s quarterfinal action of the Class 7A volleyball state tournament at Panther Arena.
Conway, which received a bye into the second round, used a run of 11 consecutive points in the first game and an eight-point string in the second game to take control of the match. The Lady Wampus Cats (23-5) eventually posted a 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 victory and will face 7A-West champion Bentonville in today’s semifinals.
“Mount St. Mary can bring its A-game on any night,” Conway Coach Laura Crow said. “We had beaten them twice already this season and that was a big concern for me. … We watched them take a big come-back victory over Fayetteville (Tuesday) and we knew they were playing really well.”
Conway’s string of points,however, seemed to quell any thoughts of the Belles pulling back-to-back upsets. Trailing 6-4 in the first game, the Lady Cats used two aces from senior Bailey McKee and five kills from junior Allison Weatherly to gain a cushion over the Belles (15-12). By the time Mount St. Mary regained its serve, the Belles were trailing 15-7.
In the second game, Mount St. Mary held a 10-9 advantage when Conway turned the momentum to its advantage for a 17-10 lead.
“Conway’s a great team and they always have been,” Mount St. Mary Coach Lane West said. “I give them all the credit. They outplayed us and they came out strong. Our girls didn’t give up, they played to the bitter end and that’s all I’ve ever asked them to do.”
Down by as many as eight points in the third game, the Belles staged a late rally, but behind six kills from Hreha, Conway was able to complete the sweep.
Junior Sara Nethercutt led the Lady Cats with 34 assists while senior Rachel Skinner had a team-high 18 digs. Weatherly finished with nine kills, sophomore Maddie Pressley with eight kills and senior Courtney Campbell seven kills and two blocks.
Seniors Melissa Sampson and Catie Crawford led Mount St. Mary with seven and six kills, respectively.
BENTONVILLE 3, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 0
Junior middle blocker Sabrina Shepherd made 16 kills and senior libero Emily Bruce came up with four aces during the second game as the Lady Tigers eliminated the Lady Wildcats 25-14, 25-17, 25-17.
Har-Ber (15-14) rallied from a five point deficit in the second game to take a 15-14 lead before Shepherd’s kills and Bruce’s strong serves put Bentonville (27-6) back in command.
Bruce, who led the team with 23 digs, would finish with five aces while sophomore Kayton Coffee served three. The Lady Tigers finished with 12 team aces. Junior Anna LeDuc added 12 kills for Bentonville while junior Haley Seyfarth led the team in assists with 32.
Har-Ber junior Kimberly Huff led her team with 11 kills while senior Emily Coats added nine. Sophomore Elizabeth Williams led the Lady Wildcats with three aces.
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 3, ROGERS HERITAGE 1
Senior Nicole Knight and junior Tiarra McDonald each scored 15 kills as the Lady Bears outlasted the Lady War Eagles in a highly competitive quarterfinal contest, 25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19.
Northside (23-8) picked up 45 assists from senior Devyn Chronister and 20 digs from Knight to advance to tonight’s semifinals against Fort Smith Southside. Senior Jill Myers contributed 10 kills and 16 digs for the Lady Bears while Chronister and senior Mikayla Martin each served three aces.
Junior Destiny Boston led Heritage (24-10) with 14 kills while junior Conner McNulty and sophomore Elleson Dunagin made 10 kills each.
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 3, CABOT 0
Senior middle blocker Drew Jones made 18 kills and served two aces as the Confederettes dealt the Lady Panthers a season-ending loss, 25-17, 25-16, 25-13.
Cabot (15-12) held leads of 1-0 and 2-0 in the first two games, respectively, but Southside (32-3) quickly gained advantages in both games.
Junior Claire Wilson added seven kills for the winners while junior Mackenzie King made six kills and matched Jones in aces with two.
Cabot senior Lakin Best led her team with 11 kills.
Sports, Pages 23 on 10/31/2013