BENTONVILLE — On paper, the 7A-Central Conference’s top-seed, Conway, appeared to offer a legitimate challenge to advance deep in the Class 7A State Volleyball Tournament.
Springdale Har-Ber effectively took that paper, rolled it into a ball and killed it on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lady Wildcats dominated the top team from the Central, using a definite size advantage in the middle and a fast start to blow past the Lady Wampus Cats in three games (25-18, 25-22, 25-22) in Tiger Arena.
Conway was unbeaten in league play this season.
“After we talked to a few people about what Conway had, they said Conway liked to run really quick offenses. But if you can get on them in the beginning, you’ll have a chance to beat them,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones said.
“And I think that was key. We knew we had to put it at them quickly and serve well and run our plays, and we executed that well.”
Tuesday, the Lady Wildcats (20-13) appeared to be the team fazed by the state tournament setting while Conway sat and watched with a first-round bye. On Wednesday, though, it was clearly the Lady Wampus Cats (19-6) who were rattled by a raucous Har-Ber cheering section and the overall tournament scene.
“We don’t have big crowds like this for our volleyball games, but the girls knew it was going to be like that. They were here (Tuesday) and they saw Har-Ber’s big student section,” Conway coach Laura Crow said.
“So they knew what to expect, but I think it may have intimidated them a little bit.”
While the match ended in three straight games, Har-Ber did have to fight off strong Conway rallies in the final two games. Especially in Game 2, when the Lady Wampus Cats were within 19-18 before a crucial 4-0 run gave Har-Ber the edge.
“That’s a big part of this team,” Jones said. “They don’t want to give up and they keep on plugging and they stepped it up right there at the end of that second game. We had a few bobbles in there, but they came back and played aggressive.”
Down 2-0 entering the third set, Conway still showed plenty of fight. But again, it was a another late run by the Lady Wildcats which proved to be the difference.
“I just wish we would have started off playing a little bit better in the first two games,” Crow said. “I felt like our zone serving was a little bit off and our offense was off, but they were smart with their tips and with what they did.
“They played a great match and Har-Ber is a very good team and we knew it was going to be tough.”
The Lady Wildcats got balanced production Wednesday, getting 12 kills from Katie Huff and nine kills each from Marisa Pless and Summer Morgan. Jordan Foley also added 16 digs in the win for Har-Ber.
“It was very well-rounded,” Jones said. “That kind of shows how it went for us.”
Har-Ber advances to today’s 1 p.m. semifinal game against tournament host Bentonville.
“That’s who we want to play, because I think we play at our top when we play Bentonville,” Jones said. “So it should be an awesome match.”