Lady Wildcats Build Foundation

EXPERIENCE RETURNS FOR HAR-BER

By By Paul Boyd <a href="mailto:PBOYD@NWAONLINE.NET">

Posted: November 2, 2009 at 5:38 a.m.

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JONESBORO — Senior Kirstie Hesseltine’s voice cracked with emotion. Even Springdale Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones struggled not to be emotional following her team’s four-set loss to Fort Smith Southside in the fi nals of the Class 7A State Volleyball Tournament.

“We just wanted it so bad,” Hesseltine said. “This is what we’ve been talking about all season, and we were so happy to be able to make it here (to the finals).”

Jones talked all season about how her senior-laden team had made steady progress over the past two seasons to put itself in position to win a state title.

“To get this far, it’s tough,” Jones said. “I wanted it so bad for these girls. But we didn’t have it today.”

Har-Ber lost a hard-fought semifinal match last season to eventual champion Bentonville. But the Lady Wildcats cleared that hurdle this year, ending the Lady Tigers’ two-year reign in the semifi nals.

Har-Ber also grabbed its first 7A-West volleyball championship this season and was the only team to take both league matches from perennial power Southside.

Despite the disappointment, Jones also sounded a bit encouraged as several underclassmen made keycontributions this season.

“Hopefully it’s a foundation for these young sophomores and juniors, that we have established something that’s going to be good for us in the next how many years,” Jones said.

Har-Ber loses fi ve seniors who all made significant contributions, including Hesseltine, setter/hitter Sydney Marsellis and libero Katie Collins, who were all named to the all-state tournament team.

However, junior outside hitter Alicia Swearingen ledthe Lady Wildcats with 15 kills in the title match, while sophomore right side hitter Aubrey Marsellis was also in double digits in kills.

Har-Ber struggled with uncharacteristic errors throughout the championship match. Its 34 attacking errors and 10 service errors alone accounted almost half of the 100 points Southside scored.

Even Jones was surprised while looking at the stat sheet following the match.

“My gosh, you look here and think how?” Jones said. “But then you look here and see we had 10 service errors.Errors in every column.”

Despite the errors, Har-Ber appeared to have momentum on its side, leading much of the third set and only two points away from taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

Jones acknowledged momentum in volleyball can be a fickle thing as it can change so quickly.

“There was a point there I thought we had it,” Jones said. “But then it fl ipped.”

Sports, Pages 13 on 11/02/2009

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