SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber had its back against the wall late in the fifth set of the 6A-West Conference volleyball opener, but senior Liz Puente put the momentum back with her team.
Trailing 6-3, Puente served up a 6-0 run to give the Lady Wildcats the lead for good en route to a hard-fought 26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-10 victory over Bentonville High on Thursday night in Wildcat Arena.
Puente had only one ace in the run, but Bentonville was off-balance and out of system to help Har-Ber rally for the victory.
Har-Ber coach Cassie Loyd said even though Puente lacked playing experience, she came up big.
"She got back there with a lot of confidence," Loyd said. "She's one of our most aggressive servers and scores us a lot of points. When I saw her go back there at 6-3 I knew we were gonna be in a good spot."
Har-Ber (2-2, 1-0 6A-West) also rallied to win the first set, turning back a pair of set points and scoring the final four points for the win.
Sophomore Kat Cooper was an offensive force for the Lady Wildcats with a match-high 19 kills, but getting the ball to her in the middle was difficult at times, Loyd said.
"Kat Cooper is an amazing player," Loyd said. "If we get her the ball consistently, we're successful. That just gives credit to our DS's and our passers because we can't get her opportunities if our pass isn't there. Being able to get her so many balls tonight was really a testament to our defense and passing."
MacKenzie White chipped in 12 kills, while Trinity Sharp had a team-high 20 digs. Skylar Fernandez also dished out 20 assists.
Bentonville coach Michelle Smith credited both teams with great effort, but the Lady Tigers must learn to finish, Smith said.
"We let some things slide tonight, but what I told the girls in the locker room it was the first conference game on the road against Har-Ber, a very strong team," Smith said. "We went to five. Do not be disappointed with your play tonight.
"Looking at the stats, yeah there are some things we can fix. But overall they played their hearts out tonight."
Trinity Hamilton and Savanna Riney led the Bentonville attack with 14 and 13 kills respectively. Both players also posted double-doubles as Hamilton had 23 digs and Riney added 15 digs and three aces.
Libero Kloey Eakin finished with a match-high 31 digs for the Lady Tigers (2-1, 0-1). Taylor Shapley also handed out a match-high 39 assists.
Van Buren 3, Rogers High 0
Grace Doolittle had 10 kills to lead the Lady Pointers to a 25-23, 25-13, 25-20 win in the 6A-West Conference opener for both teams.
Zoe Morrison added six kills, while Bre Ball dished out 19 assists for Van Buren. Brooke Moore contributed 14 digs.
Gracie Carr led Rogers with 14 kills, while Brooke Park contributed 21 digs.
Fayetteville 3, Bentonville West 0
Fayetteville opened 6A-West Conference play with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-14 sweep at Bentonville West.
Arianna Walter had six blocks and seven kills to lead Fayetteville (4-1, 1-0). Amelia Whatley added seven kills. Kortney Puckett led the Lady Wolverines with 14 kills, while Avery Kniss added eight. Baylee Lester added eight digs and Ally McCasland handed out 21 assists.
Conway 3, Fort Smith Southside 1
Average Fitzgerald registered a double-double, but the Lady Rebels lost 17-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18 on the road to open 6A-Central conference play.
Fitzgerald finished with 11 kills, 14 digs, and three aces, while Hannah Hogue contributed 36 assists and seven digs. Kelsey Hamilton added 14 digs, while Olivia Melton had nine kills and nine digs for the Lady Rebels.
Rogers Heritage 3, Springdale High 1
The Lady War Eagles snapped a 42-match losing conference losing streak with a hard-fought 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 32-30 win over Springdale in the league opener.
Ashley Ware led Heritage (4-0, 1-0 6A-West) with 15 kills, while Brittney Ware contributed 29 digs and three aces. Yanisbeth Sanchez added four blocks and Ava Cate Cameron handed out 31 assists to go with three aces.
Taina Miller led Springdale with five kills and six blocks. Matt Chong Gum dished out 10 assists, while Jortaka Georga finished with 27 digs. Maddie Downing also contributed 19 digs.
Sports on 09/06/2019