SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber volleyball coach Cassie Loyd has been pleased all season with her team's focus and approach.
That didn't change even when Fort Smith Southside took a lead late in the second set against the Lady Wildcats Tuesday night at Wildcat Arena.
The senior-laden Lady Wildcats (25-0, 12-0 6A-West) finished the second set with an 8-2 run and hit the accelerator to finish off the 25-15, 25-23, 25-13 sweep and remain undefeated.
Clark said the team, which includes 14 seniors, has matured and has never flinched under pressure this season.
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"They've had a lot of pressure on them all season long and we talk about that frequently," Loyd said. "Their sophomore and junior year, I'm not really sure this group would have finished out that second set. Now that they are seniors and they have that experience and that trust in each other. They've put in that work and they know that work is paying off for them."
Har-Ber took a lead early in the opening set and just stretched it out to win handily. But the second set was a different story. Fort Smith Southside wouldn't go away and put together a 6-1 spurt to turn a 16-15 deficit into a 21-17 advantage.
But the undefeated Lady Wildcats persevered. They got kills from four different players and a pair of aces from Josie McCroskey as part of an 8-2 run to earn the win. Har-Ber then started the third set with six straight points and put away the match.
"Right now I think we have a really big target on our back, sweeping the first round of conference," Loyd said. "Southside really put some pressure on us and I was really proud of my girls for the grit that they showed in that second set to kind of chip away at that lead Southside had on us and finish that set off."
Jordan Benford led the Har-Ber attack with a match-high 13 kills, while Kyla Clubb chipped in with 12. Middles Kat Cooper and Kinleigh Hall added eight and seven, respectively. McCroskey finished with five aces and 16 digs -- both match-highs. Setter Caylan Koons dished out 37 assists to go with nine digs and two aces.
Toree Tiffee led the Mavericks (18-9-3, 7-5) with six kills and Lydia Pitts added five. Sophia Neihouse contributed four blocks (one solo) and Olivia Melton had a team-best nine digs for Fort Smith, which currently sits third in the league -- a game up on both Rogers High and Bentonville High.
Har-Ber travels to Rogers High on Thursday before getting set to host second-place Fayetteville in what looks to be a showdown for the conference title in six days. The Lady Wildcats won the first matchup in five sets in Bulldog Arena.
Bentonville 3, Rogers 0
Trinity Hamilton put up a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs to help the Lady Lions to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-13 win.
Reagan Tunnell chipped in seven kills and three aces, while Maddie Lee added 11 digs and four blocks for the Lady Tigers (14-13, 6-6 6A-West). Lilly Thompson finished with a team-high 20 digs.
Fayetteville 3, Springdale 0
Kennedy Phelan put up another unusual double-double with 11 aces and 18 assists to lead the Lady Purple Bulldogs to an easy 25-2, 25-8, 25-11 win over the Lady Red Bulldogs.
Fayetteville (28-3, 11-1 6A-West) remains a game behind Har-Ber with the showdown in Wildcat Arena looming in a week. Brooke Rockwell led the offense with eight kills, while Maddie LaFata added seven. Ashley Ruff anchored the defense with seven digs.
Bentonville West 3, Rogers Heritage 2
The Lady Wolverines outlasted the Lady War Eagles 25-16, 24-26, 26-24, 25-22, 15-11.
Van Buren 3, Alma 0
Briann Ball put down 20 kills to go with 12 assists to lead the Lady Pointers to a 25-10, 25-17, 25-16 win.
Bryslin Oden chipped in 14 kills, while Maddie Feeny added 15 digs and Maddie Mills dished out a team-high 17 assits.
Shiloh Christian 3, Huntsville 0
Ryan Russell hammered 10 kills and added four aces to lead the Lady Saints to a 25-8, 25-12, 25-13 4A-Northwest Conference win.
Laila Creighton dished out 25 assists to go with three aces for Shiloh Christian (24-4-3). Saavy Williams added five aces and Bella Bonanno contributed eight digs.
Greenwood 3, Siloam Springs 0
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 16-8 overall and 10-1 in 5A-West Conference play with the 25-20, 30-28, 25-14 sweep of Siloam Springs on Tuesday night.
Myia McCoy had 11 kills and 10 digs for Greenwood, while Landis Luke had 10 kills. Lillyanna Gigerich had 12 digs, while Rylie Holland had 10 digs and nine assists and Ashlyn Dungan nine digs and 13 assists.
Emma Norberg led Siloam Springs (1-10 5A-West) with 12 kills, while Cailee Johnson had 16 digs, Anna Wleklinski 12 digs and Jensen Kelly 11 digs.
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6A-West Volleyball
Team; Conf.; Overall
Springdale Har-Ber 25-0 12-0
Fayetteville 28-3; 11-1
FS Southside 18-9-3 7-5
Bentonville 14-13 6-6
Rogers 16-11-6 6-6
Bentonville West 10-18 4-8
Springdale 9-13-2 2-10
Rogers Heritage 2-19 0-12
Tuesday’s Scores
Springdale Har-Ber def. Fort Smith Southside, 3-0.
Bentonville High def. Rogers High, 3-0.
Fayetteville def. Springdale High, 3-0.
Bentonville West def. Rogers Heritage, 3-2.