Volleyball: Har-Ber sweeps FS Southside, reaches semifinals

SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber's state tournament jitters didn't last long Wednesday afternoon.

The Lady Wildcats shook off an early 7-3 deficit and trailed only briefly the rest of the way en route to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-20) win over Fort Smith Southside in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A state volleyball tournament at Wildcat Arena.

Har-Ber (31-4) will now face Conway in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. today.

The Lady Wildcats got offense from several different places led by senior outside hitter Klaire Trainor with 15 kills. Paige Williams chipped in 13 and Lauren Thompson 12. Senior libero also had a match-high 23 digs.

Har-Ber coach Shyra Schisler said her team stresses defense, but that feeds the attack.

"We talk all the time that our defense is what serves our offense," Schisler said. "We have such good defenders, it gives that extra momentum that comes off a good defensive play. Offensively, everybody wants the ball. When you have players like that, who are thirsty, it makes it fun."

Senior setter Arika Johnson, who racked up 44 assists, is also a key to the attack, Schisler said.

"Arika is very smart and has a high volleyball I.Q.," Schisler said. "She like the pressure."

Southside (27-8) just never really hit its stride, longtime Mavericks coach Steve Haaser said.

"We made too many unforced errors," said Haaser, whose team beat Har-Ber in three sets in the finals of the Fort Smith Invitational earlier this season. "We weren't real sharp today, but a lot of that goes to how well they played. They are a very good team. They have so many weapons and come at your from all directions and even the back row some."

The loss snapped a streak of 21 consecutive years that Haaser's Southside teams made it to the state tournament semifinals.

Senior Mikayla Dietz led Southside with 11 kills, while Hannah Holland added nine. Sophomore libero Emily Bass contributed 18 digs.

Conway def. Rogers High, 3-0

The Lady Wampus Cats trailed early in each set, but hit the accelerator and cruised to the 25-12, 25-18, 25-13 quarterfinal win.

Conway, the top seed from the Central, used a strong service game to keep Rogers (23-14) out of system much of the match. Hailey Weber and Megan Solberg finished with four aces apiece and it was Solberg, who got the Lady Cats going in the opening set.

The 5-3 junior keyed a 10-1 Conway run from the service line turning a 10-9 lead into a 20-10 advantage. The Lady Cats scored 15 of the last 18 points and rolled to the opening-set win. Rogers scored the first four points of the second set, but Conway surged back to take a 10-8 lead and never looked back.

The Lady Cats will face Springdale Har-Ber today at 1 p.m. in the first semifinal.

Conway coach Laura Crow said her team didn't show many jitters playing in its state tournament opener.

"This group, they just kind of roll with it," Crow said. "They just love the game of volleyball and want to play. They were excited to get out there and play."

Anna Lee Drennan, a 6-0 right-side hitter, led with a match-high 10 kills, while 6-2 junior Kendahl Davenport added seven for the Lady Cats (28-6). Senior middle Aly Brinkley contributed five blocks, while Solberg and Aryn Blumenberg led with seven digs each.

Junior Hannah Maritin led Rogers, the No. 5 seed from the West, with six kills, while Emily Harris had five blocks. Kassidy Wall added seven digs.

Fayetteville def. Van Buren, 3-0

The defending state champions may not have been sharp early, but finished strong with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-10 win over Van Buren.

Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said her team definitely showed some rust, but played strong late.

"I think that early we kinda looked like we hadn't played a match in seven days," Phelan said. "But as the match went on, we got a little bit more in our groove. By the end I was feeling good about how we were playing. It did take us a while to get back in system."

Van Buren, the No. 5 seed from the West, battled the Purple Bulldogs (28-6), who have three Division I commits, in the first set and trailed only 16-14. However, Fayetteville scored nine of the last 11 points to pull away. The second set was similar, but the Purple'Dogs jumped out 9-1 in the third and rolled to the win.

Senior Haley Warner , a Florida commit, cranked a match-high 19 kills, while Wyoming commit Faith Waitsman added 13. Senior setter Ella May Powell, who has committed to Washington, dished out 33 assists.Abbie Kathol added three aces.

Van Buren (14-15) was led by Alex Dupree and Hattie Morrison with five kills each. Morrison also chipped in six digs.

North Little Rock def. Bentonville, 3-0

Senior Mya Robinson hammered a match-high 15 kills to the lead the Charging Wildcats to a 25-23, 25-19, 25-16 win over the Lady Tigers.

North Little Rock, the No. 2 seed from the Central, will take on Fayetteville today at 3 in the second semifinal.

North Little Rock coach Leslie Joshua-Johnson said winning a close opening set gave her team some good momentum.

"This is my fourth year at the school and we've lost our first match at state every time, so this was a first for me," Joshua-Johnson said. "Our offense is really good. Mya of course, but we have other hitters that we can rely on. The defense helps a lot. We get a lot of touches on the ball."

Bentonville (21-16) pulled into a 22-22 tie in the opening set, but North Little Rock scored three of the last four points to grab the win and the momentum. The Lady Tigers led briefly 11-10 in the second set, but North Little Rock then went on a 10-2 run behind the serving of Jada Curtis to take control.

Curtis added six kills and four aces, while setter Jada Bailey contributed 32 assists and Taylor Greenwell 18 digs.

Emma Palasak led Bentonville with nine kills and Tymber Riley added eight. Libero Tori Lowry finished with a match-high 24 digs and Grayce Joyce added four blocks.

Sports on 10/27/2016