BENTONVILLE -- Michelle Smith said Bentonville High's volleyball team was a little "mentally young" when it opened 6A-West Conference play last month at Springdale Har-Ber and lost.
A few matches down the road and the tables have turned. The Lady Tigers atoned for that lone loss in league play Tuesday night as they claimed a 3-1 victory over the Lady Wildcats in Tiger Arena.
Bentonville (15-6, 7-1) not only knocked Har-Ber (14-6, 6-2) out of a three-way tie for first place in the 6A-West standings, but the Lady Tigers have a tie-breaker advantage since the Lady Wildcats had a 3-2 win in the first meeting.
"In the match at Har-Ber, we were still trying to figure things out and get the oil pumping through that machine," Smith said after the 25-20, 25-13, 24-26, 25-21 win. "Now it is and all cylinders are pumping.
Savanna Riney had 19 kills and Trinity Hamilton added 18 for Bentonville, which was just two points away from a sweep in the match before Har-Ber broke a 24-24 tie and took the third set with a kill by McKenzie White and a block by Kyler Greenlee. The Lady Tigers, however, jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set and led 24-16, but Har-Ber scored five unanswered points before Bentonville ended it.
Smith applauded the Lady Tigers' total team effort through the match. Bentonville had five players finish in double digits in digs, which allowed Riney and Hamilton to finish with a double-double as well as Taylor Shapley, who added a team-high 41 assists.
"When you have that team effort, it takes the pressure off our big hitters," Smith said. "That's what we had. When you have that full team effort and not rely on just one or two players, you can make things happen."
The score was tied at 10 different occasions in the first set, but Bentonville took over by scoring eight of the last night points. The Lady Tigers then dominated the second set after a 10-1 run gave them a 12-4 lead.
Kat Cooper had 12 kills and White added nine for Har-Ber, which suffered its second straight loss, while Trinity Sharp added 25 digs.
Van Buren 3, Rogers High 2
Madalyn Doolittle put down a match-high 24 kills to lead the Lady Pointers to a 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-10 victory.
Grace Doolittle added 10 kills, while Brianna Ball dished out 35 assists. Gracie Carr led the Lady Mounties with 16 kills, 12 digs, and five aces. Phoenix Bailey added 13 and Kate Miller 12. Abby Harris led with 26 assists, while Brooke Park had a team-high 23 digs.
Fayetteville 3, Bentonville West 0
Rosana Hicks had 10 kills to lead Fayetteville to a sweep over Bentonville West (25-11, 25-11, 25-18).
Amelia Whatley added nine kills for the Lady Bulldogs (19-3, 7-1), who maintain a share of first place in the 6A-West Conference with Bentonville. Avery Kniss led West with seven kills. Ally McCasland dished out 14 assists and Reagan Ptacek added seven digs.
Springdale High 3, Rogers Heritage 1
The Lady Red'Dogs dropped the first set but roared back for the 21-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-22 win over the Lady War Eagles.
Ashley Ware led Heritage with 15 kills, while Allison Edwards had a double-double with 12 kills and 18 digs. Ava Cate Cameron dished out 20 assists, while Kariann Haney added six blocks. Brittney Ware led the Lady War Eagles with 29 digs and five aces.
Sports on 10/02/2019