FAYETTEVILLE -- Fort Smith Southside is headed back to the Class 6A state volleyball final for a third consecutive season.
The Mavericks had an answer for every Bentonville challenge and swept the defending champion Lady Tigers 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 in Thursday's Class 6A state semifinals in Bulldog Arena.
Southside (16-3) will take on Fayetteville (20-1) in Saturday's championship match at 2 p.m. in Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs. It will be the fourth meeting this season between the two teams with Fayetteville holding a 2-1 advantage. It will also be the Mavericks' third consecutive trip to the finals, but they have come up on the short end the past two.
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Southside Coach Natalie Throneberry didn't get to coach in last week's 6A-West conference tournament having been in covid-19 quarantine. She wasn't sure even in the summer that there would even be a season, but Throneberry said her team showed no nerves in the semifinals.
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"We told them last week we walked around practice in June and July and filmed them because we were afraid it was the last time we were gonna get to see them," Throneberry said. "We thought any minute now they're going to pull the rug on us. So just for the chance for this group to get to play together, we just wanted to have fun.
"So from the bench all the way out on the floor, they came out loose and they had fun. When they got pushed by Bentonville because they're sure a good team, they answered back. We blocked efficiently which is something we really focused on. So I'm just excited to come out of here with a win."
The Mavericks broke away in the middle of each set to take control and go on to the victory.
Southside's blocking helped shut down Bentonville's attack despite a scrappy defensive effort by the Lady Tigers.
Senior middle blockers Aleigha Johnson and Hayley Hall combined for 12 blocks, including a match-high eight for Hall. Setter Hannah Hogue, a University of Arkansas commit, notched five blocks.
Hogue had 32 assists and a team-high 14 digs, while senior outside hitter Avery Fitzgerald finished with a match-high 14 kills and 3 aces. Johnson added nine kills and Toree Tiffee seven for the Lady Mavericks.
Junior outside hitter Trinity Hamilton led Bentonville (14-8) with 12 kills and 13 digs. Maddie Lee added 10 kills, while libero Jamie Myrick finished with a match-high 32 digs. Setter Maddy Hughes dished out 35 assists.
Bentonville Coach Michelle Smith credited Southside with playing well but couldn't have been prouder of how her team performed.
"They were firing on all cylinders," Smith said of Southside. "They are a solid team. They are senior led. They have a lot of experience out there."
Smith said it was more about the journey for her team during a pandemic.
"It goes back to March 13 when everything shut down," Smith said. "They pushed through everything, masks, social distancing, tryouts, one person, one ball. They did whatever we asked. They fought. It didn't matter the score, the time of day. They were just giving 100%. They fought to the end."
Fayetteville 3, Springdale Har-Ber 2
Rosana Hicks helped the Lady Bulldogs get off to a fast start in the fifth set to lead them to the state final.
The 6-1 senior, who has verbally committed to Central Michigan, hammered five of her match-high 30 kills as Fayetteville jumped to a 7-2 lead and went on to the 22-25, 29-27, 25-19, 22-25, 15-8 victory over the Lady Wildcats.
Fayetteville bounced back after losing the fourth set but grabbed the early momentum in the fifth and went on to the victory.
Lady Bulldogs Coach Jessica Phelan felt like Har-Ber (11-5) had the momentum going into the final set, but her team responded.
"By the end of the match both teams know the tendencies and you have kids fighting to put the ball down," said Phelan, whose team turned back three set points to win the long second set. "Both teams just played really, really hard. The defense was spectacular on both sides of the net.
"I thought the kids came out tough in the fifth set. Ro got some good swings to start it off, and I felt like maybe for the first point in the match we kinda took a deep breath and were able to settle in a little bit."
Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Rockwell had 21 kills and 12 digs for Fayetteville. Libero Gracyn Spresser led the defense with 17 digs, while Sadie Thompson added 14.
Junior setter Kennedy Phelan had 60 assists to go with 12 digs. Sophie Snodgrass, a 6-3 junior, also added four blocks.
Kat Cooper, a 6-1 junior, led Har-Ber with 17 kills, while Kyla Clubb added 16 and Jordan Benford 12. Caylan Koons dished out 55 assists, and Josie McCroskey anchored the defense with a match-high 23 digs along with three aces. Maddux McCrackin chipped in 15 digs.
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Class 6A State Volleyball Pairings
At Bulldog Arena, Fayetteville
Tuesday’s Scores
Match 1 No. 4-West Bentonville High 3, No. 5-Central Mount St. Mary 0
Match 2 No. 3 Central North Little Rock 3, No. 6 West Bentonville West 2
Match 3 No. 5 West Rogers High 3, No. 4 Central Fort Smith Northside 0
Match 4 No. 3 West Springdale Har-Ber 3, No. 6 Central Bryant 0
Wednesday’s Scores
Match 5 Bentonville 3, No. 1 Central Conway 2
Match 6 No. 2 West Fort Smith Southside 3, North Little Rock 0
Match 7 No. 1 West Fayetteville 3, Rogers High 0
Match 8 Springdale Har-Ber, 3, No. 2 Central Cabot 0
Thursday’s Scores
Match 9 Fort Smith Southside 3, Bentonville 0
Match 10 Fayetteville 3, Springdale Har-Ber 2
Saturday’s Championship Match
at Bank OZK Arena, Hot Springs
Match 11 Fort Smith Southside vs. Fayetteville, 2 p.m.
Paul Boyd can be reached at pboyd@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAPaulb.