With the fourth game of Thursday’s match against Springdale Har-Ber hanging in the balance, Bentonville volleyball coach Michelle Coens called timeout and asked her players a simple question.
“I asked them if they really wanted this,” she said. “I was upset at the way our girls were playing. Some were playing like they wanted this, but others were playing scared.”
Moments later, the Lady Tigers provided the proper answer, scoring the last four points to complete a 25-15, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21 victory over the Lady Wildcats in Tiger Arena and reaching the Class 7A State Championship match for the third time in four years.
Sophomore Haley McNee’s kill broke a 21-21 tie and put Bentonville (30-8) ahead for good in the fourth game. Leah White then served an ace before Kelsey Parks’ tip over the net and Savannah Chandler’s kill ended the match before a boisterous crowd with students from both schools.
“We did a good job of staying composed and letting the crowd get to us,” Coens said. “The students provided a great atmosphere for volleyball, and it was awesome in here.”
But it didn’t come easy, although the Lady Tigers dominated the first two games. Bentonville finished the second game with six straight points, capped by Morgan Hayes’ ace to end the game.
Har-Ber (20-14), however, made its move by starting the third game with four straight points. Bentonville regrouped and eventually tied the game at 9 on Rebecca Brown’s tip, but the Lady Wildcats responded by scoring nine of the next 11 points for an 18-11 lead en route to forcing the fourth game.
“We fought hard to come back after we got down in the first two games,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. “I was proud of how our girls picked their game up, and that’s the character of this team.
“They played their hearts out, and they were going to fight right down to the end.”
Both teams battled back and forth through the first part of the fourth game. Bentonville had a three-point lead on a pair of occasions, only to have Har-Ber answer and tie the game again.
The Lady Tigers then went on a 5-1 spurt to take a 20-16 lead on Mamie Matteri’s kill. Har-Ber then countered with its 5-1 run and tied it at 21 before the Lady Tigers took over at the end.
“We were going back and forth at each other,” Wright said. “It was one of our best games, and it was coming down to which team could make the last pass, the last set and the last ace.”
Bentonville will play Fayetteville for the state title at 3 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Arena. The two teams shared the 7A-West Conference title by splitting their two matches, with the home team winning each time.