BENTONVILLE -- Minus a small bump in the third set, Fayetteville continued to roll Tuesday night.
The Lady Purple Bulldogs never trailed and dominated for the most part in a 25-15, 25-9, 25-17 win over Bentonville at Tiger Arena.
Fayetteville (8-0, 4-0 6A-West) have now won 16 consecutive sets and dropped just two sets thus far this season. The Lady Purple'Dogs led 15-4 in each of the first two sets and 17-7 in the third before that one got interesting. Bentonville (4-3, 2-2) got within 20-15 in the third set but Fayetteville bounced back to put the match away.
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Senior outside hitter Rosana Hicks led the way with a game-high nine kills, while Perry Flannigan added eight and 6-0 freshman Regan Harp chipped in six. Sophie Snodgrass, a 6-3 junior, added a match-high four blocks and senior Gracyn Spresser contributed a team-best nine digs. Kennedy Phelan also had a match-high three service aces.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan has seen her team progress even just through eight matches. Sophomore setter Kennedy Phelan has gotten familiar with more than just Hicks and Flannigan, which she's played with before, Coach Phelan said.
"I feel like we've really developed a lot of offensive weapons," Phelan said. "I think we've got the connection between the setter and the hitter. She was connecting with the kids she had played with before. As the season's progressed she's found better connection with others.
"I feel like the team chemistry has been really solid. I feel like they've done a good job of embracing their roles and going hard in practice."
Phelan liked the way her team served aggressively and spread out the offense on Tuesday.
"I thought we did a good job of keeping the offense balanced, spread out and pushed the tempo," Phelan said. "That started with us kinda serving pretty well. We got a lot of balls we can do that on. All in all, I thought I really solid night for us.
"I was proud of them for zoning back in in game three, I thought Bentonville really pushed back. I thought we had a nice night from the service line and were able to keep some pressure on their offense."
London McKinney led the Lady Tigers, who were without two regulars because of the coronavirus, with six kills. Jamie Myrick finished with a match-high 19 digs.
Fort Smith Southside 3, Rogers Heritage 0
The Mavericks swept the Lady War Eagles 25-15, 25-8, 25-12 in 6A-West Conference play.
Southside improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.
Shiloh Christian 3, Huntsville 0
Rylee Odell and Emerson Traweek had eight kills each to lead the Lady Saints to a 25-12, 25-21, 25-12 win over Huntsville.
Odell added four aces and three blocks for the Lady Saints (9-0). Katelyn Simpson and Kat Murphree combined for 26 assists and five aces.
Ozark Catholic 3, Eureka Springs 2
The Griffons improved to 5-2 overall rallying for an 18-25, 24-26, 25-16, 26-24, 15-12 win over Eureka Springs.
Shiloh Christian 3, Berryville 0
The Lady Saints improved to 8-0 with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-13 win on Monday.
Rylee Odell led the way with 12 kills, five aces and five blocks, while Emerson Traweek added 10 kills and 14 digs for Shiloh Christian. Katelyn Simpson also contributed 25 assists and two aces.
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West must cancel four matches
Bentonville West will cancel four 6A-West Conference volleyball matches after a member of the Lady Wolverines tested positive for covid-19, district athletic director Scott Passmore announced Tuesday morning.
West called off Tuesday’s match against Springdale Har-Ber and will not play Thursday’s match against Rogers Heritage, as well as matches next week against Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville High. The entire team is now under quarantine, according to Passmore.
Three of those four matches were to be played on the road. All four of them will be ruled as “no contest,” according to the Arkansas Activities Association ruling and will have no effect on the league standings this season.
“We look forward to resuming competition once this quarantine period has expired,” Passmore said.
This comes after West had to cancel Monday’s nonconference match at home against Greenwood.
— Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
Paul Boyd can be reached at pboyd@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAPaulb.