Fayetteville outlasts FS Southside

CONWAY -- Haley Warner's kills and a debatable over the net call in the fifth game fueled Fayetteville on Thursday afternoon in the semifinals of the Class 7A volleyball state tournament at Buzz Bolding Arena.

Warner came up with 12 of her game-high 22 kills in the fourth and fifth games as the Lady Bulldogs rallied for a 3-2 victory over Fort Smith Southside. Fayetteville (33-3-1) dropped two of the first three games and trailed 14-12 in fourth game before earning a 22-25, 25-9, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9 victory over the Confederettes (24-13).

It was the fourth meeting between the 7A-West teams this season. Fayetteville had won all three matches and had won eight of nine sets between the teams prior to Thursday.

"I can't say enough about the fight Southside showed today," Fayetteville Coach Jessica Phelan said. "They took their game to another level. ... They made us earn today's victory."

Fayetteville advances to play Springdale Har-Ber in Saturday's championship game in Hot Springs.

Warner had nine kills in the fourth game, helping Fayetteville's rally. The Lady Bulldogs scored five consecutive points midway through the game to turn a 15-14 deficit into a 19-15 lead. Fayetteville scored 11 of the game's final 16 points.

"Going into this game, I honestly didn't think it would be this close," said Fayetteville junior middle blocker Faith Waitsman, who had three kills during her team's final nine points of the fourth game. "I was worried, but at the same time I knew we had it in us to fight back."

Fayetteville finally swung the momentum in its favor on a point that did not go the Lady Bulldogs' way.

With the fifth game tied at 6-6, Fayetteville was called for being over the net. The Lady Bulldogs responded by scoring the next seven points.

"In a close game there are going to be some controversial calls that will go one way or the other," Southside Coach Steve Haaser said. "That's just part of volleyball. ... We just couldn't get a string of points in that fifth game."

"When [the referee] called that ... that gave us some fire," said Waitsman, who finished with 16 kills and seven blocks. "I'm not going to lie. We didn't 100 percent agree with the call, but it gave us a reason to fight back. We were not going to let that be the reason to lose."

Junior Abbie Kathol added 15 kills and 28 digs for Fayetteville, while sophomore Ella May Powell handed out 60 assists and junior Olivia Wales had 27 digs.

Southside picked up a team-high 15 kills from junior outside hiter Mikayla Dietz and 11 from senior Maddie Pressley. Junior Jenny Tipson helped the Confederettes' cause with 16 assists and 12 digs. Junior Skylar Grams had 19 assists and 10 digs. Senior Marika Stiles led Southside with 30 digs.

SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 3, BENTONVILLE 2

Junior outside hitter Klaire Trainor and sophomore Lauren Thompson combined for 36 kills as the Lady Wildcats (28-5-2) stunned the defending state champion Lady Tigers (23-12) in Thursday's opening semifinal game.

Har-Ber scored nine of the final 12 points in the fifth game, giving the Lady Wildcats their first victory over Bentonville since 2009. The Lady Tigers had taken two 3-0 victories over Har-Ber earlier this season. Har-Ber won 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 15-11.

"I was proud of our girls because we came into today having not beaten Bentonville in any game all year," Har-Ber Coach Shyrah Schisler said. "We had not only a lot to overcome, but a lot of work to do once we got out there."

Trainor led the Lady Wildcats with 21 kills while Thompson followed with 15. Junior outside hitter Paige Williams added 11 kills, while Emily Williams had 10 kills and a team-high five blocks.

"They ran a very balanced offense," Bentonville Coach Michelle Smith said of Har-Ber. "It didn't matter who they were setting, that player was ready to hit."

After dropping the first game, Har-Ber never trailed in the second game. But after holding as much as a 19-14 advantage, the Lady Wildcats allowed Bentonville to tie the game at 22. A block by senior Elizabeth Williams and game-ending kill by Thompson sparked Har-Ber back to life.

"If we had fallen behind 2-0, I still think we could have come back and won," said Elizabeth Williams, who had 57 assists and 20 digs. "We needed to push it out right then. ... We talked about how we hadn't beaten Bentonville at all since 2009. This is going to change our world."

Bentonville was led by Sadie Pate, a 5-10 senior who had 28 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Emma Palsak added 18 kills, and senior Savannah King made 36 digs.

Pate had six of her kills in the fourth game as the Lady Tigers forced a fifth game. Bentonville led 8-6 in the final game before Har-Ber made its final push.

Sports on 10/30/2015